LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 
Kpewed  2  1892        ,  189 


'ssi'oiis  No.  /{flUfc}3    .  CLiss  No. 


fur 


V  , 


1  'H  ~p  I-  ~  '   I-  U  T  T  A^Jj  : 


THE     LIFE 


OF 


EDWIN    FORREST. 


WITH 


REMINISCENCES  AND  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS. 


BY    JAMES    REES 

(COLLEY  CIBBER.  ) 


WITH     PORTRAIT     AND     AUTOGRAPH. 


[Hr.   WAS   A   MAN,  TAKK   HIM   FOR   ALL   IN   ALL, 
I   SHALL   NOT   LOOK    UPON    HIS   LIKE   AGAIN." 


!     "Zti*1'- 

«4   ^  •'•• 
v 

PHILADELPHIA: 
T.    B.    PETERSON    & 


306     CHESTNUT     STREET, 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1S74,  by 

T.  B.  PETERSON  &  BROTHERS, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  0. 


"EDWIN  FORREST"  in  the  character  of  " SPARTACUS." 

T.  B.  Peterson  &  Brothers  have  just  published  a  large  photograph  of 
EDWIN  FORREST,  representing  him  as  he  appeared  on  the  stage  in  his 
great  character  of  "  Spartacus"  in  Dr.  Bird's  celebrated  play  of  the 
"  Gladiator."  The  size  of  the  photograph  is  11  X  14  inches,  and  the  size 
of  the  card  it  is  mounted  on  for  framing  is  16  X  20  inches.  It  is  perfectly 
life-like,  Mr.  Forrest  having  sat  in  character  for  the  original  picture  ;  and 
it  is  from  the  original  picture  this  photograph  has  been  taken,  by  one  of 
the  most  celebrated  artists  in  this  country,  F.  Gutekunst,  of  Philadelphia, 
Price  Two  Dollars.  It  will  be  sent  by  express,  to  any  one,  on  receipt  of 
price. 

PORTRAIT   OF    "EDWIN   FORREST." 

T.  B.  Peterson  &  Brothers  also  publish  a  fine  portrait  of  EDWIN  FOR 
REST,  engraved  on  steel,  in  line  and  stipple,  from  the  last  photograph  for 
which  Mr.  Forrest  sat,  and  which  he  pronounced  to  be  the  best  portrait 
ever  taken  of  himself.  It  is  on  a  large  card  for  framing.  Size  of  the  card, 
10  X  13  inches,  price  Fifty  cents.  India  Proof  Impressions  of  the  same 
portrait  are  also  published  on  the  same  size  card,  for  framing,  price  Sixty 
cents.  Copies  of  this  portrait  will  be  sent  safely,  on  a  roller,  to  any  one, 
to  any  place,  per  mail,  post-paid,  on  receipt  of  price  by  the  Publishers. 

Address  all  orders  and  remittances  for  either  or  both  of  the  above,  to  the 
Publishers. 

T.  B.  PETERSON   &   BROTHERS, 

306  CHESTNUT  STREET,  PHILADELPHIA. 


TO 
THE  MEMEEHS 

OF     THE 

THEATRICAL    PROFESSION 

IN 
THE    UNITED    STATES, 

THESE 

EEMIWISCENCES 

OF 

A  DISTINGUISHED    CO-LABORER 

IN    THE 

CAUSE    OF    THE    DRAMA, 

ARE 


THE  AUTHOR. 


TO    THE    EEADER. 


SHORTLY  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Edwin  Forrest,  on 
account  of  the  intimacy  and  personal  friendship  that 
had  existed  between  us  for  a  period  of  nearly  fifty 
years,  I  commenced  the  publication  of  a  series  of  articles 
in  the  "SUNDAY  MERCURY,"  of  Philadelphia,  under 
the  head  of  "  Reminiscences "  of  that  distinguished 
gentleman.  The  great  interest  excited  by  the  early 
numbers,  induced  me  to  make  some  change  in  my  ori 
ginal  plan.  Since  the  completion  of  the  series  in  the 
"Mercury,"  I  have  written  several  additional  chapters, 
which  contain  a  full  history  of  Mr.  Forrest's  life,  from 
the  time  of  his  birth  until  his  death.  I  have  also  made 
large  additions  to  the  articles  as  originally  published  in 
the  "  Mercury,"  and  they  are  now  submitted  to  the  public, 
in  book  form,  by  one  who  was  endeared  to  the  distin 
guished  actor  by  the  most  tender  ties  of  friendship. 

On  almost  every  occasion  when  Mr.  Forrest  was 
called  upon  for  a  sketch  of  his  early  life  to  accompany 
some  play  or  book  of  the  drama,  he  invariably  referred 
such  publishers  to  me,  "  as  being,"  he  said,  "  more  ac 
quainted  with  his  early  life,  and  remembering  incidents 
about  him  much  better  than  he  did  himself." 

My  acquaintance  with  Mr.   Forrest  dates  from    boy- 

(21) 


22  TO    THE    READER 

hood,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  I  was  his  constant 
companion,  and  perhaps  no  one  had  as  many  advantages 
to  become  acquainted  with  his  professional  career,  or  with 
the  various  phases  of  his  character  in  private  life,  as 
myself.  These  advantages  were  the  result  of  the  con 
fidence  Mr.  Forrest  placed  in  me.  When  he  was  absent 
from  the  city,  he  entrusted  his  house  and  its  valuable 
contents  to  my  charge,  with  money  to  defray  all  the  cur 
rent  household  and  any  other  necessary  expenses.  I  had 
the  sole  use  of  his  library  during  his  absence,  and  the 
privilege  of  introducing  my  friends  to  view  both  it  and 
the  picture  gallery. 

It  is  not  egotism  which  induces  me  to  allude  to  these 
facts  here,  but  that  my  readers  may  fully  understand  the 
personal  relationship  existing  between  the  subject  of  this 
work  and  its  author,  and  also  the  motive  I  had  in  its 
composition — A  TRIBUTE  TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  ONE 

WITH   WHOSE   NAME   A    NATION   IS   SO   FAMILIAR. 

The  portrait  of  Edwin  Forrest,  in  front  of  this 
volume,  was  engraved  expressly  for  the  work,  on  steel, 
from  the  last  photograph  for  which  he  ever  sat.  It  was 
taken  by  the  celebrated  Philadelphia  artist,  F.  Gutekunst, 
and  Mr.  Forrest  was  so  well  pleased  with  it,  that  he 
declared  he  "  would  never  sit  for  another  picture  to  mortal 
man."  It  was  alas!  too  true;  for  his  death  followed 

shortly  afterwards. 

JAMES  REES. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I.  P>,, 

INTRODUCTION    TO   THE   WORK,  -      33 

CHAPTER   II. 

EDWIN  FORREST'S  BIRTH  AND  PARENTAGE. — HIS  ANCES 
TRY:— EARLY  STRUGGLES. — HIS  FATHER  A  RUNNER  IN 
STEPHEN  GIRARD'S  BANK. — ALEXANDER  WILSON,  THE 

ORNITHOLOGIST.  —  YOUNG  FORREST'S  TUTOR. EDWIN 

A  GREAT   MIMIC. — HIS  EARLY  INCLINATION  FOR  THE 

STAGE    MANIFESTED. PARENTAL    OPPOSITION HIS 

EDUCATION. — A    STORE    BOY.  —  PLAY-BOOK    AND    DAY 
BOOK  TOO  NEAR  TO  EACH  OTHER. LECTURED  BY  HIS 

EMPLOYER. THE  RESULT,        .....    39 

CHAPTER   III. 

IMITATES  THESPIS  OF  OLD. — FORMS  A  THESPIAN  CLUB. — 
PLACE  OF  MEETING. — PLEASING  REMINISCENCES. — HE 
INHALES  THE  GAS. — DEVELOPS  HIS  STAGE  PROCLIVI 
TIES. — OLD  SOUTH  STREET  THEATRE. — PLAYS  A  FEMALE 

PART.  —  STRANGE     DRESS.  —  SHOWS     TEMPER. PLAYS 

ANNA  IN  DOUGLAS. — POOR  EDMUND,  THE  BLIND  BOY.— 
CHARLES     S.     PORTER    AND     JAMES     H.     HACKETT. — AN 

AMUSING     INCIDENT SOME     ACCOUNT     OF     THE     OLD 

APOLLO     THEATRE. — DROP     CURTAIN     AND    SCENERY.— 
DESTRUCTION    OF    THE    THEATRE    BY    FIRE,    -  -       41 

(23) 


24  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   IY. 

PAO«. 

HIS   FIRST  APPEARANCE  ON  A  REGULAR    STAGE. — FINDS  A 

FRIEND    IN     COL.    JOHN     SWIFT. THE     SPIRIT     OF    THE 

BOY  FORESHADOWS  THE  GENIUS  OF  THE  MAN. — YOUNG 
NORVAL. — THE  AMATEUR  MERGES  INTO  THE  ACTOR.— 
PREPARES  FOR  A  WESTERN  TOUR.  —  THE  DRAMA  IN 
CINCINNATI. — SOL.  SMITH. — THE  DRAKE  FAMILY. — FOR- 
REST's  JOURNEY. — STAGE-COACH  ADVENTURE. — MEETS 
THE  HON.  SIMON  CAMERON. — HIS  FIRST  APPEARANCE  IN 

CINCINNATI. THE   UPS   AND    DOWNS    OF   STAGE    LIFE. 

THE    DREAM    OF    THE    BOY    REALIZED    IN    MANHOOD,       •       60 


CHAPTER   Y. 

EARLY  STRUGGLES. — TRAGEDY,  COMEDY,  OR  CIRCUS? — 
PLAYS  A  NEGRO  DANDY. — -ENGAGES  WITH  JAMES  H. 
CALDWELL,  N.  O.,  FOR  THE  COMING  SEASON. — SUFFER 
INGS  IN  THE  MEANTIME. — MAKES  A  PROVINCIAL  TOUR. 

ITS    RESULTS. — THE     RIDDLE     FAMILY. — THROWS    UP 

HIS    ENGAGEMENT    WITH    CALDWELL. — JOINS   A    CIRCUS 

COMPANY.  —  SOL.     SMITH      INDIGNANT. A      PLEASING 

EPISODE. GOES     TO     NEW     ORLEANS.  —  HIS     RESOLVE 

AFTER     SEEING     CONWAY,     THE     GREAT     TRAGEDIAN. 

JANE     PLACIDE. — FORREST'S    RETURN     TO     HIS     NATIVE 
CITY. — TRIUMPHANT    SUCCESS  I    -  •"    "    -  -  -      75 


CHAPTER   VI. 

GREAT  THEATRICAL  SEASON,  1 825.  —  KEAN,  FORREST, 
MACREADY,  LYDIA  KELLY^  AND  THOMAS  A.  COOPER,  THE 
STARS. — KEAN'S  RECEPTION. — FORREST  AS  DAMON. — 
HIS  ENGAGEMENT  AT  THE  PARK  THEATRE,  N.  Y. — 
STONE'S  TRAGEDY  OF  METAMORA.  —  LUCIUS  JUNIUS 
BOOTH. — WILLIAM  FORREST. — SKETCH  OF  HIS  LIFE. — 
AN  EPISODE. — JOHN  W.  FORNEY. — RENEWAL  OF  EARLY 
FRIENDSHIP,  -......-88 


CONTENTS.  25 

CHAPTER  VII. 

PAG«. 

DRAMATIC  AUTHORS. — JOHN  AUGUSTUS  STONE. DR.  BIRD. 

— ROBERT    T.    CONRAD. JACK     CADE. GLADIATOR. 

ORALOOSA. — SUCCESS    ATTENDING    THEIR    PRODUCTION. 

SKETCH    OF    THE    LIFE    OF    THE    AUTHOR    OF    META- 

M011A. RICHARD     PENN     SMITH.  —  CAIUS    MARIUS,       -      96 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

CONTEMPLATES   AN   EUROPEAN   TOUR. — TAKES   LEAVE  OP 

HIS     PHILADELPHIA    FRIENDS. HIS    SPEECH     ON     THE 

OCCASION. BOWERY     THEATRE,     N.     Y. THOMAS     A. 

COOPER.  —  FORREST  ENACTS  THE  PART  OF  DENTATUS 
IN  THE  PLAY  OF  VlRGINIUS.— BROKER  OF  BOGOTA. — • 
SKETCH  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  MR.  COOPER. — COMPLIMENT 
ARY  DINNER  TO  MR.  FORREST. TESTIMONIALS. — GOLD 

MEDAL. — FAREWELL  SPEECH. — DEPARTURE  TO  EUROPE,    103 

CHAPTER  IX. 

IN     EUROPE.  —  PILGRIM     ON     THE     RHINE. — IN    ASIA. — 

NAPLES. VENICE. VERONA. TOMB    OF    JULIET. — 

GLANCE  OF  TRAVEL. — THE  YANKEES  IN  ST.  PETERS 
BURG INTERVIEW  WITH  GEORGE  M.  DALLAS. — MO 
ROCCO. ROME. THE  VATICAN. VALUE  OF  A  PICTURE. 

— CASTLE  OF  ST.  ANGELO. — AN  INCIDENT. DELARUE. 

A    PAGE   FROM   CLASSIC   HISTORY,  -  -  -  -    113 

CHAPTER  X. 

FORREST'S  RETURN  FROM  HIS  EUROPEAN  TOUR.  —  HIS 
RECEPTION. APPEARS  AT  THE  CHESTNUT  STREET  THE 
ATRE. SPEECH. — PARK  THEATRE,  N.  Y. — FAREWELL 

ENGAGEMENT. IMMENSE    SUCCESS. ADDRESSES    THE 

AUDIENCE. HIS     DEPARTURE. APPEARANCE    ON    THE 

ENGLISH  STAGE. KINDLY  RECEIVED. —  PUBLIC  DIN 
NERS  TENDERED  HIM  BY  THE  GARR1CK  CLUB  1 — 
PRESENTS,  ETC. — HIS  MARRIAGE,  ....  125 


26  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XI. 

PA<;K. 

OTHELLO. ITS    ORIGINAL    PLOT. NOTED    ACTORS    IN    THE 

PART. FIRST    OTHELLO    IN    THIS    COUNTRY. MR.    FOR- 

REST'S  CONCEPTION  OF  THE  CHARACTER.  —  STGNOR  SAL- 
V1NI  COMPARED  WITH  FORREST. — AN  ITALIAN  VERSION,  133 

CHAPTER    XII. 

FORREST    RETURNS    HOME  WITH    HIS    BRIDE. — HIS    RECEP 
TION. GRAND     DINNER. HIS     OLD     FRIENDS     AROUND 

HIM. — JOHN  SWIFT,  MORTON  MCMICHAEL,  LOUIS  A. 
GODEY,  ETC.,  -  .  -  -  145 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

KING  LEAR. — ORIGIN  OF  THE  PLOT. CHRONICLE  HISTORY 

OF  KING  LEAR. — SHAKESPEARE'S  LEAH. — BETTERTON. 
— BURBAGE BARTON  BOOTH. KEMBLE's  ADAPTA 
TION. WILLIAM  DUNLAP'S  OPINION  OF  FORREST'S 

LEAR. — MR.  FORREST'S  CONCEPTION  OF  THE  CHARACTER. 
EXTRAORDINARY  TALENT  DISPLAYED  IN  ITS  REN 
DITION. CRITICAL  NOTICES  BY  THE  AUTHOR, THRIL 
LING  INCIDENT  DUIUNG  MR.  FORREST'S  PERFORMANCE 
OF  LEAR. — FIRST  PERFORMANCE  OF  KING  LEAR  IN 
AMERICA. — THE  CAST,  -  -  158 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

MR.   FORREST  A  STUDENT. MEN  WITH  WHOM    HE    ASSOCI 
ATED. DAMON,   HIS  GREAT  TRIUMPH    IN    THE    PART. 

VIRGINIUS. ENGLISH      CRITICISM.  —  CORIOLANUS.  — 

RICHELIEU,  -  -  175 

CHAPTER  XY. 

HAMLET. — ORIGIN     OF    THE    TRAGEDY.  —  THE     ORIGINAL 

HAMLET. ACTORS    GREAT     IN    THE     PART. — CRITICISM 

ON  KEMBLE. WILLIAM  B.  WOOD. — MR.  FORREST'S  HAM 
LET. — HAMLET'S  IJN  SANITY. — WILLIAM  A.  CON  WAY,  -  186 


CONTENTS.  27 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

TAG*. 

LATE  AT  RETTFARSAL. RICHELIEU  IN  A  PAPPTON. — AN 

AMUSING   INCIDENT. THE   EXCITED   CRITIC.  —  KING 

LEAR'S   WIG. — ALMOST   A    DUEL. — ANDREW    JACKSON 

ALLEN. A   SATISFACTORY  EXCUSE. FORREST   MEETS 

HIS  MATCH.— ROMAN  CITIZENS. — POWERFUL  ACTING,  -  190 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

MR.    FORREST'S   MEDICAL   KNOWLEDGE.  —  FORREST   AND 

SHAKESPEARE. THE  TURKISH  BATH. SHORT  LETTER. 

INCIDENT   IN   AN    INSANE   ASYLUM. HEREDITARY 

GOUT. — QUACK  MEDICINE,  -  -  212 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 

ENGLISH  PREJUDICE  AGAINST  AMERICAN  AUTHORS  AND 
ACTORS. ORIGIN  OF  THEIR  DRAMA,  NOT  AS  LEGITI 
MATE  AS  OUR  OWN. — SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  BOOTIES 
RECEPTION  IN  LONDON FORREST'S  SECOND  PROFES 
SIONAL  VISIT. ITS  RESULT,  -  -  -  -  221 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

MR.  FORREST. RECEPTION  IN  ENGLAND COMBINATION. 

— INTRIGUE. — MACREADY'S  COMPLICITY  WITH  FORSTER. 

FORREST   AND   MACREADY  MEET  IN  PARIS  AND  AT 

ED1NBURG PAS  DE  MOUCHOIR,  DISTASTEFUL  TO  FOR 
REST. BULWER  AND    HIS   PLAYS. — CORRESPONDENCE 

BETWEEN    AUTHOR  AND   ACTOR. THE   PRESS    TAKES 

PART. JOHN  FORSTER  OF  THE  EXAMINER,        -        -  228 

CHAPTER   XX. 

FORREST  HISSES  MACREADY. — THE  RIGHT  OF  DOING  SO 
QUESTIONED. COMBINATIONS  IMPROPER. ARE  AC 
TORS  COMPETENT  CRITICS? HAMLET'S  INSANE  AC 
TIONS. FORREST  VS.  SNOBBISM  IN  GOTHAM. THE 

BIGHTS   OF  HISSING    AT   THEATRES   CONSIDERED,    -  -    238 


28  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

PAGE. 

RICHARD  TIT. — COLT.EY  GIBBER'S  VERSION FIRST  RICH 
ARD  IN  AMERICA. — ACTORS  CELEBRATED  IN  THE  PART. 
— FORREST'S  RICHARD,  NOT  SHAKESPEARE'S. — HE  AD 
HERES  TO  HISTORY. QUESTION  OF  DRESS,  -  -  248 

CHAPTER   XXII. 

MACBETH. — NEW  READINGS. — CRITICISMS. — DIVERSITY  OF 
OPINION  ABOUT  CERTAIN  PASSAGES. — ENGLISH  NOTICE 
OF  FORREST'S  MACBETH. — FORREST  ELATED. — WRITES 
AN  INJUDICIOUS  LETTER  HOME. — YOUTH  AN  EXCUSE,  256 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

HOME. — LETTERS  TO  THE  AUTHOR. — FORREST  THINKS  OF 
HOME. — POSTAL  MATTERS. —  QUACK  MEDICINE  — DEATH 
IN  THE  POT. — GLAD  TO  HEAR  OF  FORNEY'S  RESIGNA 
TION. A  LEAKY  HOUSE. — BAD  ACTORS. — CRITICISM. — 

JOSEPH    MCARDLE, 271 

CHAPTER   XXIY. 

MR.  FORREST'S  RELIGION. — LOVER  OF  NATURE. — LETTER 

TO  A   FRIEND. "  MY  MOTHER." — WAS   SHAKESPEARE 

A  ROMAN  CATHOLIC? — MUSIC  IN  CATHEDRALS. — KING 
JOHN. — SHAKESPEARE  AND  THE  BIBLE,    -  280 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


MR.  FORREST'S  CHARITY. HOW  HE  DISPENSED  IT. THE 

ACTOR'S  WIDOW. — THE  DUTIFUL  SON. — PLEASING  INCI 
DENT. — LIBERAL  TO  HIS  PARTY. — FORREST  AND  THE 
POOR. AN  UNJUST  DEMAND  UPON  HIS  PURSE,  -  -  288 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

CORIOLANUS. — ITS  ORIGIN  — THE  ACTOR. — MR.  FORREST'S 

IMPERSONATION  OF  THE  CHARACTER. THE  MARBLE 

STATUE. MR.  THOMAS  BALL,  THE  SCULPTOR. — SPLEN 
DID  SPECIMEN  OF  ART. — A  PERSPECTIVE  GLANCE  OF 
THE  ACTOR'S  HOME, 294 


CONTENTS.  29 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

PAQB. 

EDWIN  FORREST'S  POLITICS. — DEMOCRATIC. — FOURTH  OF 
JULY  SPEECH. — A  PAGE  FROM  JOHN  W.  FORNEY'S  BuOK. 

FORREST  A  HUMORIST. HE  IS  ONLY  AN  ACTOR. 

HENRY  CLAY. — ANECDOTE, 302 

CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

STATE  OF  THE  DRAMA. — AMERICAN  ACTORS. — A  RE 
VIEW  OF  THE  CAUSE  OF  THE  ASTOR  PLACE  RIOTS. 

MACREADY'S    FIRST    AND    SECOND    MOVE.  —  THE    AP 
PROACHING  STORM. — LAWYER'S  ADVICE,     -  -  311 

CHAPTER   XXIX. 

MACREADY'S  THIRD  MOVE.  —  FORREST'S  CARD.  —  MA 
CREADY'S  REPLY.  — WILLIAM  B.  REED'S  LETTER. 

DIGNIFIED  SILENCE. — THE  B'HOYS. MAY  7TH,  1849. 

ASTOR    PLACE    OPERA    HOUSE. FIRST    SYMPTOMS    OF    A 

EIOT. — JOHN    BULL   DEFYING  BROTHER   JONATHAN,        -   322 

CHAPTER   XXX. 

THE  19TH  OF  MAY,  1849.  —  JAMES  WATSON  WEBB. — 
APPEAL  TO  THE  WORKING  MEN. — THE  MILITARY  PRE 
PARE  TO  FIRE. — THdEATSiOF  THE  MOB. ALARM  IN 

THE     GREEN-ROOM. — THE    WORD     GIVEN. — FIRE  ! — THE 
FEARFUL    CLOSE    OF    THE    RIOT. — DEATH  !      -  333 

CHAPTER   XXXI. 

THE    CAUSES    LEADING    TO    THE    DIVORCE    BETWEEN    MR. 

FORREST    AND    HIS    WIFE. DOMESTIC    DIFFICULTIES 

DIFFERENCE    BETWEEN    AMERICAN   AND    ENGLISH    LIFE. 

MRS.    FORREST. STATE    OF    THE     DRAMA. ENGLISH 

ACTORS,     AND    ACTRESSES. — A     LEGAL     OPINION. — COR 
RUPT    LEGISLATURE,     -  ...   345 

CHAPTER   XXXII. 

THE  FIRST  CAUSE  OF  SUSPICION. STARTLING  DISCLO 
SURES. —  JAM1ESON  AT  BAY. THE  PHRENOLOGIST. — 

THE     DISCOVERY. PRIVATE    DRAWER.  —  THE     LETTER. 

—  SEi'ARATIUN.—  MR.  FORil&bT's   LETTER   TO   Hid   WIFE,    355 


30  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

MRS.  FORREST'S  LETTER.— REPLY. — TEIE  CONSUELO  LET 
TER. — .SKETCH    OP    GEORGE    JAMIESON. HIS    FEARFUL 

DEATH. — RETRIBUTION  !       -  -  3G3 

CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

AFTER  THE  TRIAL HIS  APPEARANCE  AT  THE  BROADWAY 

THEATRE.  —  RECEPTION. SPEECH. FIRST  APPEARANCE 

OF     MRS.     CATHARINE     N.     SINCLAIR    (FORREST)     AS    AN 

ACTRESS. AN    OLD    PLAY-BITL. UNJUST    CRITICISM. 

Mil.    FORRLST    AS    AN    ARTIST,        -  -  -    370 

CHAPTER   XXXV. 

COMPLIMENTARY     BENEFIT     TO     JAMES    W.     WALLACK. 

MR.    FORREST    AS    CLAUDE    MELNOTTE. — THE    ORIGINAL 

IN     THE     CHARACTER. CAST.  —  RETIRES     TO     PRIVATE 

LIFE. — HOME  ON    BROAD  STREET. — THE   POOR   SOLDIER. 

— FORREST'S  LIBERALITY. — RENEWS   HIS  PROFESSION. 

GREAT  SUCCESS  IN  SHAKEoPERIAN  CilAUACTERS,     -  377 

CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

MENTAL    AND    PHYSICAL    LABOR. FORREST'S    ENERGY. 

GREAT  WESTERN  AND  SOUTHERN  TOUR  CONTEMPLATED. 

PREPARES    HIMSELF    FOR    THE    TASK. — STARTS    FROM 

PHILADELPHIA. COLUMBUS.  —  CINCINNATI.  —  OHIO,     -    385 

CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

KANSAS     CITY. — FORRESTANIA. — ST.    LOUIS.  —  HIS     GREAT 

SUCCESS. CRITICISMS. — A    MINISTER    CONVERTED     BY 

HIS    ELOQUENCE. ACCEPTS  AN  INVITATION  TO  BOSTON. 

— SICKNESS. — JAMES  OAKES'  LETTER. — RETURN  HOME,    392 

CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 

RETROSPECTION.  YOUTHFUL       REMINISCENCES.  —  FAIR- 
MOUNT. OLDEN    TIME. PLACE     OF    REHEARSAL. A 

CLOSE     STUDENT. PRIVATE     LIFE. — COAT    OF    ARMS. 

THE  IDIOT    BOY PuEM,       -  -  -  -  -  -    401 


CONTENTS.  31 

CHAPTER   XXXrX. 

PAG«. 

OUR  DRAMATIC  AUTHORS THE  STAGE. — RICHARD  PENN 

SMITH'S   CAIUS    MARIUS. — WHEN    FIRST   PRODUCED. — 

HOW  IT  WAS  RECEIVED. — AN  AUTHOR'S  TRIALS. — HIS 
GOOD  NATURE. — EXTRACT  FROM  THE  PLAY. — ANEC 
DOTES,  -  -  -  -  412 

CHAPTER   XL. 

DR.  ROBERT  MONTGOMERY  BIRD. — HIS  BIRTH  AND  EDU 
CATION. —  STUDIES  MEDICINE. —  BECOMES  A  POET. 

CELEBRATED  AS  A  NOVELIST. — FAMOUS  AS  A  DRAMA 
TIST. THE  GLADIATOR  A  GREAT  SUCCESS. FORREST 

AS    SPARTACUS.  —  ORALOOSA. — BRuKER    OP    BOGOTA,       -    421 

CHAPTER   XLI. 

ROBERT  T.  CONRAD. — SKETCH  OF  HIS  LIFE. — HE  STUDIES 
LAW.  —  A  POLITICIAN,  POET,  AND  DRAMATIST.  —  BE 
COMES  AN  EDITOR. — WAS  RECORDER  OF  THE  NORTHERN 
LIBERTIES. — IS  APPOINTED  JUDGE  OF  THE  COURT  OF 
QUARTER  SESSIONS. — IS  ELECTED  MAYOR  OF  THE  CITY 
OF  PHILADELPHIA. — RESUMES  THE  PRACTICE  OF  THE 
LAW. — JACK  CADE. ITS  GREAT  SUCCESS. — A  COMPLI 
MENT  TO  OUR  LITERATURE. EXTRACTS  FROM  THE 

PLAY. — G.  H.  MILES,  AUTHOR,  OF    MOHAMMED,       -  -    431 

CHAPTER   XLII. 

MR.  FORREST  AS  A  READER^ — HAMLET HIS    CONCEPTION 

OF  THE  CHARACTER. — WONDERFUL  POWERS  OF  DELINE 
ATION. HIS  LAST  APPEARANCE  BEFORE  THE  PUBLIC, 

AS   AN   ACTOR   AND   A   READER, 442 

CHAPTER   XLIII. 

THE   LIBRARY^ — DESCRIPTION   OF  THE   PICTURE   GALLERY. 

— RELICS. —  CURIOSITIES. SHAKESPEARE'S    CORNER. 

SAD  EVENTS  ANTICIPATED — PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS. 
— THE  LOST  FOLIO. — LOVE  OF  POETRY. — LINES  ON  THE 
DEATH  OF  A  FRlbND,  -  -  -  -  -  -440 


32  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   XLIV. 

PACK. 

FORREST    IN    HIS    PICTURE    GALLERY. LOVE    OF    ART. 

THE  LIBRARY. — REPEATING  THE  LORD'S  PRAYER. THE 

MINISTER    AND    THE    ACTOR    CONTRASTED. — WINE    AND 

GRAPES. THE    OLD    BIBLE. REFERENCE  TO  THE  FOLIO 

OF    16*23. THE    RESULT. THE    HISTORY    OF    THIS    EDI 
TION  OF  SHAKESPEARE'S  PLAYS. — UNJUST  CRITICISM. — 

THE   LAST    SCENE   IN    THE   LIBRARY,     -  -   460 

CHAPTER   XLY. 

CLOSE    OF    A    BRILLIANT    CAREER. THE    UNCERTAINTY   OF 

LIFE. FAREWELL. OUR    LAST     INTERVIEW,    TUESDAY 

EVENING,      DECEMBER     10TH,     1872. TERRIBLE     AN 
NOUNCEMENT. —  DEATH,        •  ...    479 

CHAPTER   XLYI. 

THE  EULOGIES  OF  THE  PRESS  THROUGHOUT  THE  COUNTRY. 
— THE  SUNDAY  DISPATCH. — THE  FUNERAL. — THE  BODY. 

THE    COFFIN. SURROUNDING    OBJECTS THE    IVORY 

CRUCIFIX  EXCITEMENT    AMONG    THE     CROWD. — THE 

DOORS    THROWN    OPEN. — INCIDENTS   AT   THE    FUNERAL. 

TESTIMONIALS LOTUS    CLUB,    OF    NEW    YORK. THE 

VAULT. — THE   LAST   CEREMONY. — BEAUTIFUL  POEMS,   -   488 

CHAPTER   XLVII. 

THE   WILL   OF    EDWIN    FORREST,        -  -  500 

CHAPTER   XL VIII. 

AN  ACT  TO  INCORPORATE   "  THE    EDWIN    FORREST    HOME,"    510 

CHAPTER   XLIX. 

COMMENTS  ON  THE  WILL  OF  EDWIN  FORREST.  —  SOME 
THING  IN  REGARD  TO  THE  LOCALITY  OF  THE  "EDWIN 
FORREST  HOME." — WILL  IT  SUIT  THE  VETERANS  OF 

THE   STAGE? TOO    FAR   OUT   OF   TOWN. SPRINGBROOK 

IN    THE     MARKET    FOR    SALE  ! — THE    WIFE'S    CLAIM. 

OBJECTIONABLE     CLAUSE.  —  THE     PROPER     PLACE     FOR 
THE    HOME,          -  -    517 


LIFE  OF  EDWIN  FOBREST. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION    TO    THE    WORK. 

THvR.  JOHNSON,  speaking  of  Biographical  writing, 
-*-*'  says: 

"  No  species  of  writing  seems  more  worthy  of  cul 
tivation  than  biography,  since  none  can  be  more  de 
lightful  or  more  useful,  none  can  more  certainly  enchain 
the  heart  by  irresistible  interest,  or  more  widely  diffuse 
instruction  to  every  diversity  of  condition."  History 
allows  full  scope  to  the  writer  in  the  exercise  of  his 
pen,  if  it  be  impartial,  the  world  will  readily  ac 
knowledge  its  truthfulness  —  if  otherwise,  it  becomes 
personal,  or  simply  national,  and  intended  to  exalt 
some  one,  or  some  nation  at  the  expense  of  another. 
History  therefore  is  doubtful,  biography  truthful. 
Reminiscences  of  an  individual  includes  biography 
and  history,  and  if  the  author  is  not  swayed  by  pre 
judice,  the  public  will  find  the  subject-matter  an  index 
to  the  true  character  of  the  person  of  whom  he  treats. 

One  other  feature  in  these  reminiscences  of  Mr. 
Edwin  Forrest,  is  the  lesson  they  are  likely  to  con- 
2  (33) 


34  LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FORREST. 

vey  to  the  young,  the  aspiring  and  ambitious.  Forrest 
was  the  architect  of  his  own  fortune,  and  commanded 
the  Grenii  of  the  mind  to  open  to  his  view  the  wealth  of 
the  intellectual  world ;  into  that  world,  at  an  early 
age,  he  entered,  an  obscure  boy  of  humble  birth,  and 
iron  fortune,  fighting  his  way  up  to  an  eminence  in 
the  profession  he  had  adopted,  without  those  ad 
ventitious  circumstances  which  made  a  Grarrick  and 
Kemble  great ;  with  Forrest : 

"  Ambition  was  an  idol  on  whose  wings, 
Great  minds  are  carried  only  to  extreme 
To  be  sublimely  great,  or  to  be  nothing." 

The  profession  of  an  actor,  unfortunately  for  our 
stage,  is  not  considered  in  the  same  light  as  are  the 
other  learned  professions,  and  yet  it  requires  as  much 
study,  application  and  practice  as  that  of  any  other 
coming  under  the  above  head.  In  the  question  of  the 
character  of  the  stage,  and  its  lawfulness,  involves  in  a 
great  measure  that  of  the  actor.  If  the  stage  be  in 
itself  unlawful,  then  the  actor  can  lay  no  claim  to  the 
title  of  a  professor — but  if  it  is  lawful,  both  as  regards 
morals,  and  the  requirements  of  great  intellectual 
power,  why  is  he  debarred  the  admittance  into  the 
temple  of  the  universe  of  letters  ?  The  stage  has  al 
ways  been  considered  as  a  source  of  moral  instruction, 
as  well  as  of  amusement,  the  profession  therefore  is  not 
only  innocent,  but  useful  and  commendable. 

A  writer  has  said :  "  Of  the  various  trades  and  pro 
fessions,  to  which  men  have  recourse,  either  to  gratify 
their  inclinations  or  to  procure  a  livelihood,  there  is 
not  one  particularly  of  those  called  liberal,  more  labo 
rious,  or  wasteful  of  life,  than  that  of  an  actor,  and 
more  especially  a  tragedian." 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FORREST.  35 

To  arrive  at  consummate  excellence  requires  inde 
fatigable  study,  unwearied  practice,  and  the  utmost 
exertion  of  the  vocal  organs ;  not  to  mention  the 
violent  bodily  exercise  frequently  demanded ;  and 
above  all,  the  violent  agitation  of  alternate  passions, 
which  though  assumed,  are  often  very  deeply  felt,  and 
which  being  felt,  must  naturally  impair  the  vigor  of 
the  animal  spirits,  and  "  exhaust  the  lamp  of  life." 

"It  does  not  require  the  physical  or  anatomical 
skill  of  an  M.  D.,"  says  the  editor  of  the  "  Dramatic 
Mirror,"  "to  understand  how  intimately  the  passions 
and  feelings  are  connected  with  the  bodily  frame  and 
affect  it;  how  destructive  they  often  prove  to  health — 
how  fatal  to  life  itself;  and  yet,  without  feeling  and 
passion,  what  is  a  player?"  A  French  actor,  the 
Garrick  of  France,  says:  "Rules  may  teach  us  not  to 
raise  the  arms  above  the  head ;  but  if  passion  carries 
them  there,  it  will  be  well  done."  Passion  knows  more 
than  art.  And  yet,  although  we  admit  this  strain 
upon  the  mental  and  physical  strength  of  an  actor, 
still  there  are  but  few  instances  of  an  actor's  career 
inducing  short  life.  Over  exertion,  whether  on  the 
stage,  in  the  pulpit,  or  at  the  bar,  has  produced  fatal 
results ;  but  this  may  probably  be  owing  to  other 
causes  not  apparent  to  the  eye  of  a  casual  observer. 
An  eminent  French  actor,  Montfleury,  died  of  his 
violent  exertions  in  performing  Orestes,  in  the  An 
dromache  of  Racine.  Win.  B.  Wood  broke  a  blood 
vessel  while  enacting  Brutus,  and  Edwin  Forrest  was 
carried  out  to  the  green-room  on  one  occasion  while 
playing  Lear,  in  an  unconscious  state,  caused  by  a  rush 
of  blood  to  the  head,  and  yet,  both  of  these  gentlemen 
lived  to  a  "  good  old  age." 


36  LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FORREST. 

Another  remarkable  fact  in  connection  with  the 
lives  of  actors,  is  that  people  generally,  without 
thought  or  reflection  say:  "Oh!  they  do  not  live 
long ;  their  habits  and  associations  are  such  as  to 
shorten  their  lives."  This  is  not  so.  We  admit 
there  are  some  cases,  and  fearful  ones  too,  of  the 
death  of  actors,  at  an  early  age,  from  the  causes  to 
which  rumor  alluded ;  but  they  are  few,  compared  to 
the  destruction  of  human  life  in  other  branches  of  the 
liberal  arts  from  the  same  causes.  Again,  while  our 
alms-houses  and  prisons  are  the  homes  of  many  who 
were  once  the  pride  and  ornaments  of  society,  there  is 
not  a  single  actor,  at  the  present  writing,  an  inmate  of 
either  of  these  institutions.  A  tree,  it  is  said,  is 
judged  by  its  fruit — that  of  the  stage  can  therefore  be 
judged  by  this  fact  in  connection  with  our  criminal 
records.  An  idea  once  advanced  that  the  theatre  is  an 
improper  source  of  amusement,  becomes  in  time  a  serious 
charge.  At  different  periods  of  stage  history,  learned 
men  have  advocated  the  stage  as  being  a  "  school  of 
virtue  " — "  a  warm  incentive  to  virtue,  and  a  powerful 
preservative  against  vice  " — "  and  a  perpetual  source 
of  the  most  noble  and  useful  entertainments  " — "  the 
mirror  of  a  nation's  virtue."  By  others  it  has  been 
branded  as  "  the  school  of  impiety  " — "  the  porch  of 
hell" — "the  house  of  the  devil" — "the  sink  of  cor 
ruption  and  debauchery."  There  is  one  peculiar  fact 
in  connection  with  these  antagonistical  disputants,  and 
that  is,  those  who  defend  the  drama  were  the  most 
eminent  of  the  period  in  which  they  wrote,  viz : 
"  Addison,  John  Styles,  D.  D.,  Wm.  Gilpin,  author  of 
the  Exposition  of  the  New  Testament,  Rev.  I.  Plump- 
tree,  Dr.  Johnson,  Richard  Cumberland,  Dr.  Owen, 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FORREST.  37 

Milton,  Sir  Kichard  Blackmore,  and  Dr.  Watts."  As 
this  gentleman's  name  is  so  piously  identified  with 
our  church  history,  we  deem  it  advisable  here  to  give 
his  opinion  of  stage  performances.  In  his  "  Discourse 
on  the  Education  of  Children/'  he  says :  "  It  is  granted, 
that  a  dramatic  representation  of  the  affairs  of  human 
life,  is  by  no  means  sinful  in  itself;  I  am  inclined  to 
think,  that  valuable  compositions  might  be  made  of 
this  kind,  such  as  might  entertain  a  virtuous  audience 
with  innocent  delight,  and  even  with  some  good  profit. 
Such  have  been  written  in  French,  and  have  been  acted 
with  applause." — [Works,  vol.  vi.  p.  376.  See  also 
Preface  to  his  Horce  LyriwJ] 

To  these  we  may  add  the  names  of  the  philosopher 
Plato,  Bishop  Rundle,  Dr.  Gregory,  and  the  learned 
and  pious  Hugh  Blair,  D.  D.  In  giving  the  names  of  a 
few  of  those  who  advocated  the  stage — at  a  time  when 
the  stage  commanded  both  notice  and  respect,  it  may 
be  well  to  state  that  its  opponents  were  quite  as  nu 
merous,  many  of  whom  stood  high  in  the  world  of  let 
ters,  but  they  were  more  or  less  influenced  by  that 
spirit  of  fanaticism  which  no  argument,  however  strong, 
can  ever  overcome. 

Indiscriminate  praise,  or  indiscriminate  censure 
are  alike  injurious  to  any  cause,  and  equally  indispose 
the  friends  or  the  enemies  of  it  to  an  inquiry  into 
its  true  merits ;  and  when  we  find  such  very  opposite 
opinions  prevail  upon  any  subject,  the  probability  is, 
that  truth  lies  somewhere  between  these  two  extreme 
points. 

Our  stage  history  furnishes  numerous  instances  of 
this  same  spirit  of  opposition,  but  if  we  trace  it  from 
the  year  1752  gradually  down  to  the  erection  of  the  old 


38  LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

Chestnut  Street  Theatre  1793,  and  follow  it  step  by 
step  to  the  advent  of  a  class  of  actors  educated  in  the 
profession  and  who  had  made  it  a  life's  study,  we  have 
a  history  of  the  stage  and  the  drama  that  finds  no 
parallel  in  the  annals  of  the  world. 

Connected  with  this  era  in  our  stage  history  is  the 
subject  of  these  "  Reminiscences,"  and  if  we  fail  to 
identify  him  with  its  legitimate  character,  it  is  because 
a  class  of  actors  and  sensational  dramas  have  lessened 
the  histrionic  art  in  the  estimation  of  those  whose  duty 
it  was  to  maintain,  and  shield  it  from  these  pretenders, 
to  a  profession  of  which  they  have  not  the  slightest 
claim.  The  result  has  been  ruinous  to  the  moral  char 
acter  of  our  stage,  and  can  only  be  remedied  by  a  firm 
determination  to  discountenance  everything  that  is  cal 
culated  to  lessen  its  influence  as  a  corrective,  as  well  as 
a  curative  of  evil. 

If  the  evil  attached  to  a  theatre  be  no  part  of  its 
inherent  quality,  but  arises  merely  from  the  abuse  of  it, 
and  which  is  in  the  power  of  its  frequenters  and  prop 
erly  constituted  authorities  to  correct ;  and  if  this  pow 
erful  engine  can  be  further  made  to  promote  the  cause 
of  virtue,  and, 'with  that,  indirectly  if  not  directly,  the 
cause  of  religion,  then  does  it  become  our  duty  to  sepa 
rate  the  evil  from  the  good,  and  to  make  it  such  as  all 
good  men  and  women  may  frequent.  "Next  to  the 
church,  a  theatre  should  be  a  place  for  people  to  visit, 
if  it  is  not  made  unlawful,  and  contrary  to  the  spirit 
of  our  religion.  And  that  visiting  acting,  or  attending 
it,  is  inconsistent  with  the  character  of  a  Christian/' 
John  Witherspoon,  D.  D. 

If  the  views  expressed  in  these  remarks  should  give 
offence  to  those  who  have  control  of  our  theatres,  they 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  39 

must  attribute  them  to  the  desire  we  have  to  restore 
our  stage  to  its  former  noble  and  legitimate  character ; 
our  desire  has  ever  been  to  see  our  stage  and  drama 
based  upon  a  firm  principle,  so  as  to  be  the  arbiters,  the 
guardians,  and  the  guides  of  the  public  taste  and 
morals. 


CHAPTER  II. 

EDWIN  FORREST'S  BIRTH  AND    PARENTAGE.  —  HIS  AN 

CESTRY.  -  EARLY  STRUGGLES.  -  HIS  FATHER  A  RUN 

NER    IN    STEPHEN    GIRARD'S    BANK.  —  ALEXANDER 

WILSON,  THE  ORNITHOLOGIST.  -  YOUNG  FORREST'S 
TUTOR.  -  EDWIN  A  GREAT  MIMIC.  -  HIS  EARLY  INCLI 
NATION  FOR  THE  STAGE  MANIFESTED.  -  PARENTAL 
OPPOSITION.  —  HIS  EDUCATION.  -  A  STORE  BOY.  — 
PLAY-BOOK  AND  DAY-BOOK  TOO  NEAR  TO  EACH 
OTHER.  -  LECTURED  BY  HIS  EMPLOYER.  —  THE  RE 
SULT. 


FORREST  was  born  in  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia,  March  9th,  1806,  in  what  was  known  as 
Old  Southwark.  The  small  house  in  which  his  parents 
resided  was  in  George  Street,  and  until  within  a  few 
years  could  be  pointed  out  as  the  birth-place  of  the 
great  tragedian.  His  father,  William  Forrest,  was  a 
Scotchman,  a  native  of  Dumfrieshire,  a  frontier  county 
of  Scotland.  In  a  small  village,  near  Solway  Frith, 
there  is  a  graveyard  attached  to  a  small  church,  upon 
many  a  simple  slab  the  stranger  will  read  the  name 
of  "Forrest,"  some  of  which  bear  date  far  back  to 


40  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

some  distant  period.  William  Forrest  came  to  this 
country  a  man  grown,  and  like  most  of  his  country 
men  was  both  industrious  and  saving.  It  some 
how  happened  that  he  settled  in  Trenton,  N.  J.,  and 
there  commenced  business — failed — and  came  to  Phil 
adelphia. 

In  1791,  he  was  engaged  at  the  Dispensary,  No.  68 
Chestnut  Street,  old  number.  In  1794  he  again  com 
menced  business,  and  opened  a  store,  No.  26  South 
Second  Street.  In  1797,  he  removed  to  No.  10  North 
Front  Street.  While  engaged  in  mercantile  business 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  going  around  among  merchants 
and  selling  goods  by  sample,  in  fact,  he  was  what  at 
that  time  was  called  a  pedler,  or,  as  they  termed  it  in 
his  own  country,  Scotland,  "  Commercial  Traveller."  In 
the  mean  time  he  became  acquainted"  with  a  Miss  Ke- 
becca  Lauman,  a  young  lady  of  German  descent,  born 
in  this  country — the  result  was  she  became  Mrs.  Wil 
liam  Forrest.  The  business  in  which  her  husband  was 
engaged  did  not  exactly  meet  the  views  of  herself  and 
family,  for  there  is  an  aristocracy  even  in  the  middle 
classes,  and  the  occupation  of  a  pedler  of  merchandise 
they  considered  one  step  down  the  social  ladder  of  life. 
The  result  was  a  change  of  base,  and  we  next  find  him 
holding  a  subordinate  position  in  the  old  United  States 
Bank ;  place  of  residence  (1802)  No.  51  George  Street, 
where  he  resided  up  to  the  year  1810.  George  Street 
is  to  be  found  on  the  old  city  map,  as  running  from 
No.  24  Gaskell  Street  to  No.  31  German  Street.  In 
1814  the  family  removed  to  No.  55  Shippen  Street, 
where  they  resided  until  1818. 

At  the  close  of  the  United  States  Bank,  his  friend, 
Stephen  Girard,  who  had  started  one  of  his  own,  enti- 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  41 

tied  "  The  Girard  Bank,"  offered  him  a  situation  in  it, 
which  he  retained  until  the  day  of  his  death. 

In  1818  the  family  removed  to  No.  77  Cedar  Street, 
where  shortly  afterwards  he  died.  In  1819,  we  find 
the  name  of  Mrs.  Kehecca  Forrest,  widow,  No.  77 
Cedar  Street,  where  she  resided  up  to  1827-8. 

The  writer  of  this  knew  Mrs.  Forrest  when  thus 
left  a  widow  with  six  children,  as  one  of  the  most  in 
dustrious  women  of  the  day.  Indeed,  industrious  she 
had  to  be,  with  a  large  family,  and  but  little  means. 

The  parents  of  Edwin  Forrest  were  religious,  and 
regular  attendants  at  church,  and  he  accompanied  them 
frequently.  At  the  early  age  of  seven  he  displayed 
wonderful  powers  of  memory,  and  also  those  of  imita 
tion.  It  is  said  that  his  father  first  intended  him  for  the 
Church.  He  would  amuse  Ijis  parents  by  reciting  from 
memory,  passages  of  the  sermon,  and  give  a  tolerable 
imitation  of  the  minister's  voice,  manner  and  style. 
This  happy  pulpit  aptitude  of  their  son  confirmed  their 
pious  purpose ;  but  the  death  of  the  father  put  an  end 
at  once  and  forever  to  his  prospects  of  advancement  in 
any  of  the  liberal  professions. 

Among  the  most  distinguished  men  of  the  day,  who 
discovered  the  remarkable  talents  of  young  Forrest, 
was  Alexander  Wilson,  the  celebrated  ornithologist. 
He  selected  appropriate  passages  from  authors,  and  got 
the  "youthful  prodigy,"  as  he  called  him,  to  recite 
them.  Mr.  Wilson  was  a  regular  visitor  to  the  family, 
and  would  on  every  occasion  listen  to  the  recitations  of 
his  pupil,  and  then  reward  him  by  presenting  him  with 
the  pictures  of  his  great  work,  entitled  "  American  Or 
nithology,"  then  passing  through  the  press.  Alexan 
der  Wilson  possessed  considerable  taste  for  literature, 


42  LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FOEEEST. 

and  published  several  poems  of  much  beauty.  As  For 
rest  was  born  in  1806,  and  Wilson  died  in  1814,  the 
former  it  will  be  perceived,  at  that  period  was  only 
eight  years  of  age  ! 

Lauman  Forrest  was  the  eldest  son,  he  was  a  mo 
rocco  dresser,  and  when  we  first  knew  him  he  was  work 
ing  on  Willow  Street,  above  Second.  He  was  the  tall 
est  of  the  family,  being  over  six  feet — and  to  use  a  fa 
miliar  expression,  was  "as  straight  as  an  arrow/'  He 
used  to  take  Edwin  with  him  to  the  work  shop,  where 
he  gave  his  first  recitation  in  public,  standing  on  a 
marble  slab  used  by  the  men  for  dressing  leather.  His 
audience  were  the  workmen. 

These  early  dramatic  shoots  from  a  fertile  brain, 
tinctured  with  a  Shakesperian  hue,  soon  began  to  blos 
som.  It  may  be  said  that  Edwin  Forrest  was  born  an 
actor,  for  at  that  early  age  his  readings  and  recitations 
were  considered  as  wonderful.  Lauman  Forrest  died 
in  South  America ;  a  younger  brother  died  in  infancy  v 
William  Forrest,  the  third  son,  was  a  printer. 

After  the  death  of  the  father,  the  three  daughters, 
Henrietta,  Caroline  and  Elenora,  opened  a  millinery 
store,  No.  77  Cedar  Street,  while  their  mother  added 
to  their  scanty  means  by  binding  shoes.  It  was  a  life- 
struggle  ;  but  they  all  bore  up  bravely,  and  fought  the 
fight  that  in  the  end  was  to  be  victorious. 

Forrest,  like  most  young  men  of  his  age  and  sta 
tion,  received  an  education  such  as  the  limited  means 
of  his  parents  afforded.  But  what  of  that,  the  mind, 
the  incompressible  mind,  is  the  tutor  of  man ;  it  can 
grasp  and  bring  from  unlimited  space  all  the  elements 
which  tend  to  make  a  genius.  It  is  the  mystery,  whose 
power  is  in  itself,  to  will  and  control.  Mind — 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOEEEST.  43 

"  Makes  the  body  rich ; 

And  as  the  sun  breaks  through  the  darkest  clouds, 
So  honor  'peareth  in  the  meanest  habit. 
What,  is  the  jay  more  precious  than  the  lark, 
Because  his  feathers  are  more  beautiful  ? 
Or  is  the  adder  better  than  the  eel, 
Because  his  painted  skin  contents  the  eye  ?  " 

If  Forrest's  parents  had  been  wealthy,  or  the  school 
system  at  that  period  as  it  is  now,  one  grand  National 
Seminary,  his  mind  and  intellect  would  have  received 
the  impress  of  the  master  spirit — education.  Still, 
man  is  the  architect  of  his  own  fortunes,  and  can  com 
mand,  as  he  advances  on  to  manhood,  those  agencies 
which  act  as  tutors  to  genius. 

Forrest  was  taken  from  school  when  he  was  about 
ten  years  of  age,  a  good  stout  boy  for  his  years.  It  was 
necessary  for  each  one  to  contribute  something  to  the 
support  of  the  family,  and  a  situation  was  obtained  for 
him  in  the  store  of  Mr.  Tiers,  ship-chandler,  on  the 
wharf.  His  next  situation  was  with  Messrs.  Baker  & 
Son,  importers  of  German  goods.  The  .store  was  situ 
ated  on  Kace  Street,  below  Third,  next  door  to  the 
old  tavern  of  "  The  King  of  Prussia."  At  this  time 
Forrest  had  a  strong  inclination  to  study  play-books, 
and  took  great  delight  in  hearing  talk  of  theatres  and 
actors.  While  in  the  employ  of  these  gentlemen,  it  so 
occurred  that  the  writings  of  one  William  Shakespeare 
were  not  unfrequently  found  in  close  proximity  with 
the  day-book.  Mr.  Baker  was  a  very  worthy  and  pious 
man,  and  frequently  remonstrated  with  Edwin  about 
his  predilection  for  the  stage ;  and  one  day  remarked, 
in  his  own  peculiar  style  and  manner  of  speaking, 
"  Edwin,  my  boy,  this  theoretical  infatuation  will  be 
your  ruin." 

How  often  are  the  aged  mistaken  in  giving  advice 


44  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

to  the  young !  for  the  poor,  struggling  actor  boy,  in  the 
year  1829,  presented  his  mother  and  sisters  with  a  fine 
house,  and  gave  them  a  suitable  income,  from  his  first 
earnings  as  a  star;  and  in  that  year  we  find  the  name 
of  Mrs.  Kebecca  Forrest  in  the  directory,  living  at  No. 
144,  old  number,  North  Tenth  Street.  Father,  mother, 
brother  and  sisters  passed  away  from  earth,  and 
Edwin  Forrest,  when  death  laid  his  cold  hand  upon 
him,  was  the  last  of  his  race. 


CHAPTER    III. 

IMITATES   THESPIS    OF  OLD. — FORMS   A  THESPIAN    CLUB. 

PLACE    OF    MEETING. PLEASING    REMINISCENCES. 

HE     INHALES     THE     GAS. DEVELOPS     HIS     STAGE 

PROCLIVIT  •**£- OLD     SOUTH     STREET     THEATRE. 

PLAYS    A    MHlN    PART- STRANGE    DRESS. SHOWS 

TEMPER.%8E&YS    ANNA    IN     DOUGLAS. POOR     ED 
MUND,    THE    BLIND    BOY. CHARLES    S.    PORTER    AND 

JAMES  H.  HACKETT. AN  AMUSING  INCIDENT. SOME 

ACCOUNT     OF     THE     OLD    APOLLO     THEATRE. DROP 

CURTAIN     AND     SCENERY. — DESTRUCTION     OF     THE 
THEATRE    BY    FIRE. 

r  I  ^HESPIS,  a  Greek  poet,  born  at  Icaria,  in  Attica, 
J-  flourished  B.  C.  576.  He  is  considered  as  the 
inventor  of  tragedy,  from  his  having  introduced  actors 
in  addition  to  the  chorus.  His  stage  is  said  to  have 
been  a  cart;  and  the  faces  of  the  performers  were 
smeared  with  wine  lees,  or,  according  to  Suidas,  with 
white  lead  and  vermillion.  As  regards  the  latter,  the 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  45 

custom  as  established  nearly  2500  years  ago  is  still 
retained — with  the  exception  of  the  white  lead,  as  the 
nineteenth  century  has  materially  improved  the  means 
of  beautifying  the  human  face  by  less  injurious  cos 
metics. 

Edwin  Forrest,  like  that  great  master  of  art  from 
whose  advent  we  may  date  tragedy,  and  equally 
ambitious  to  be  the  founder  of  a  youthful  com 
pany  of  comedians,  determines  to  form  a  Thespian 
Club. 

Various  were  the  modes  resorted  to,  to  carry  out 
this  object.  The  first  place  selected  for  the  purpose 
was  a  room  in  a  small  house  immediately  in  the  rear 
of  Jacob  Zelin's  tavern,  situated  on  Chestnut  Street,  be 
low  Fifth,  north  side.  In  after  years  this  spot  was  oc 
cupied  by  Parkinson  as  a  confectionery.  There  were 
two  or  three  Thespian  Societies  about  this  time,  and  it 
is  a  curious  fact  that  it  was  not  u«j|Lyoung  Forrest 
took  the  lead  in  them  that  any  a^^HjKwas  Pa^  t° 
the  properties  or  costume.,  nor  is  1!  n.-mie  among 

those  belonging  to  either  of  the  others  that  ever  figured 
on  the  legitimate  stage.  Forrest  was  not  more  than 
eleven  years  of  age  when,  with  his  little  company,  he 
opened  in  the  room  mentioned  above. 

The  second  attempt  was  much  better,  both  as  re 
garded  his  company  and  locality.  The  place  selected 
was  in  the  second  story  of  an  old  house  then,  and  still 
standing,  at  the  north-west  corner  of  Harmony  Court 
and  Hudson's  Alley.  Here.it  was  that  the  spirit  of 
Shakespeare  animated  the  soul  of  the  "boy  that  was  to 
assume,  in  after  years,  the  sole  right  of  being  the  rep 
resentative  of  the  ennobling  characters  of  the  bard's 
transcend  ant  creations.  There  was  no  boyishness  about 


46  LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FOKREST. 

this  Thespian  Club — no  play-house  for  children,  but  for 
men  to  see  and  applaud. 

"  The  Mortonians  "  was  the  first  association  estab 
lished  by  amateurs.  This  company  was  organized  in. 
1812.  The  incentive  to  this  was  the  extraordinary 
success  of  Master  John  Howard  Payne,  who  created  a 
great  excitement  in  this  city  in  the  year  1811,  and 
whose  genius  and  talent  were  not  unfrequently  com 
pared  with  those  of  Cooke,  Cooper  and  Fennell.  Payne 
turned  the  heads  of  half  the  young  men  of  the  town. 
Foremost  among  those  who  were  eager  to  become  famous 
was  Jackson  Gray,  his  age  was  about  the  same  as  that 
of  Payne.  He  was  a  lad  in  the  hardware  store  of  Wayne 
&  Biddle,  south-west  corner  of  Market  and  Front 
Streets,  but  subsequently  was  apprenticed  to  Jane 
Aitken,  printer.  TMs  society  soon  joined  the  one 
established  by  Edwin  Forrest,  and  the  old  South  Street 
Theatre  became  the  scene  of  their  youthful  efforts  to 
master  the  art  and  science  of  acting.  We  annex  the 
names  of  those'  who  were  the  most  active  in  the 
cause.  Among  them  will  be  found  several  who  in  after 
years  became  popular  as  actors,  while  others  distin 
guished  themselves  in  other  branches  of  the  liberal 
arts.  Our  readers  will  recognize  the  names  of  one  or 
more  who  rose  to  eminence  as  writers,  editors,  and 
politicians.  Joseph  C.  Neal,  author  of  "  Charcoal 
Sketches ; "  M.  M.  Noah,  distinguished  both  as  an 
editor  and  dramatic  author ;  Jackson  Gray,  Anthony  Sey- 
fert,  Benjamin  Mifflin,  Washington  Dawson,  and  R. 
Meers,  printers  ;  Harris  G.  Pearson,  Hernizen,  Chalkly 
Baker  (this  gentleman,  better  known  in  after  years  as  a 
ward  politician,  kept  the  old  Race  Street  House,  wherein 
General  Andrew  Jackson  was  first  spoken  of  and  nom- 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOEEEST.  47 

mated  for  the  Presidency);  Captain  Klett,  Thomas 
Reed,  Frank  Savoy  (carpenter);  Robert  Cooper,  J. 
McKibben,  A.  Phillips,  Charles  Webb  (subsequently 
an  actor  of  great  merit);  Jack  Moore  (bookbinder, 
served  his  time  with  Robert  Desilver);  I.  C.  Higgins 
(joined  Cald well's  company  in  New  Orleans) ;  Fred. 
Saillac,  Robert  Laidley  (known  as  an  actor  of  some  pre- 
tentions  to  tragedy);  Adam  Levy  (broker);  William 
Carr,  Michael  Monier,  Samuel  Ward  (subsequently 
turned  his  attention  to  the  ministry)  ;  West  Blair 
(rose  to  the  position  of  a  pilot  on  board  a  Mississippi 
steamer),  John  Heyl  (vocalist).  These  were  all  mem 
bers  of  the  profession ;  among  their  friends  and  youthful 
companions  were  Edward  King  (afterward  Judge  of 
the  Court),  John  Swift,  Jesse  R.  Burden,  and  the 
writer  of  these  reminiscences.  Of  the  above  named, 
the  last  two  alone  are  living. 

It  is  melancholy  to  roll  up  the  curtain  of  the  past, 
and  equally  so  for  memory  to  people  the  stage  and  the 
auditorium  with  these,  our  friends,  associates  and 
companions.  All  gay,  happy  and  full  of  youthful  as 
pirations  for  the  great  future,  looking  forward,  at  least 
some  of  them,  to  have  their  names  recorded  on  the 
dramatic  page,  bright  stars  of  the .  "  mimic  world." 
One  only  of  these  ever  reached  any  degree  of  eminence 
in  the  profession.  And  now,  he  too,  is  gone,  and  others 
gained  a  name  in  literature,  art  and  science ;  others 
again  went  down  the  dark  stream  of  life  in  sorrow, 
misery,  suicide,  ignoble  death.  Let  silence  be  their 
epitaph — oblivion  their  tomb ! 

"  When  I  remember  all 

The  friends,  so  link'd  together, 
I've  seen  around  me  fall, 

Like  leaves  in  wintry  weather, 


48  LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOKREST. 

I  feel  like  one 

"Who  treads  alone 
Some  banquet  hall  deserted, 

Whose  lights  are  fled, 

Whose  garlands  dead, 
And  all  but  he  departed."  . 

One  little  incident  in  Edwin  Forrest's  career  we 
will  relate  here,  as  it  attracted  the  attention  of  Colonel 
John  Swift,  and  was  the  cause  of  that  gentleman 
taking  such  an  interest  in  his  "  young  proteg/."  We 
were  one  evening  in  the  Tivoli  Garden,  situated  on 
Market  Street  near  Broad,  north  side,  some  time  in 
the  year  1817,  when  a  professor  of  chemistry  was  ad 
ministering  what  at  that  time  was  called  "laughing 
gas."  Some  very  amusing  scenes  occurred,  arising 
from  its  effect  on  those  who  inhaled  it.  At  last  a  fine 
looking  lad,  whose  age  might  have  been  about  thirteen 
years,  presented  himself  to  the  man  of  science  to  be 
experimented  upon.  As  we  have  observed,  he  was  a 
fine  looking  boy,  neck  bare,  a  large  shirt  collar  thrown 
back  over  that  of  a  blue  roundabout ;  for  boys  at  that 
period  did  not  wear  men's  style  of  coats.  His  features 
were  manly,  bold,  but  not  forward  or  impertinent 
in  their  varying  emotions ;  he  also  had  a  fine  head  of 
hair  which  gathered  in  clustering  curls  around  his 
well-formed  neck.  He  was  what  we  should  call  a  model 
boy.  He  inhaled  the  gas  ;  immediately  after  the  bag 
was  removed  he  started  out  on  the  gravel  walk,  and 
throwing  himself  into  a  position  peculiarly  dramatic, 
he  recited  a  portion  of  Norval's  speech  and  also  of 
Kichard  III.,  but  ere  he  got  through,  the  current  of  his 
mind  changed,  and  he  made  a  dash  at  the  bystanders, 
and  a  race  ensued.  The  effect  of  the  gas  passing  off, 
lie  came  to  himself,  and,  looking  wildly  around  upon 


jLIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  49 

the  laughing  crowd,  he  rushed  away  and  was  seen  no 
more  in  the  Garden.     That  boy  was  EDWIN  FORREST. 

OLD    SOUTH    STREET    THEATRE. 

The  appearance  of  the  old  South  Street  Theatre  on 
the  evenings  of  these  Thespian  performances  was 
gloomy  in  the  extreme  ;  the  stage  and  the  auditorium 
partly  lit  up,  gave  to  the  wood  scenes  and  old  castles 
a  still  more  sombre  hue ;  added  to  which  two  aged 
musicians,  hired  for  the  occasion,  gave  forth  some  old 
Barbara  Allen  air,  which  came  up  from  the  orchestra 
like  the  notes  of  some  ill-fated  swan.  Then  the 
characters  on  the  stage  with  long  assassin-like  cloaks, 
high  brigand  hats,  with  huge  feathers,  each  one  grasp 
ing  awful  looking  knives,  made  one's  blood  chill  at  the 
very  sight.  The  audience  occasionally  indulged  in 
some  critical  remarks  loud  enough  to  be  heard  by  the 
actors.  On  one  occasion  when  Forrest  was  playing  the 
fair  Kosolio  to  Charles  S.  Porter's  Kudolph,  a  pugna 
cious  boy  in  the  pit  made  some  observations  on  fair 
Kosolio's  dress.  This  dress  has  since  been  the  subject  of 
much  comment,  and  by  some  denied  as  being  but  the 
creation  of  our  fancy,  for  we  were  the  first  to  describe 
it.  The  editor  of  the  Press,  in  his  obituary  notice  of 
Mr.  Forrest,  mentioned,  or  rather  quoted  it  from  our 
description  given  some  eighteen  years  ago,  and  it 
may  be  well  to  describe  it  here,  as  probably  many 
may  not  have  seen  the  Press,  or  our  allusion  to  it. 
This  play  was  the  Robbers  of  Calabria.  Our  ac 
count  read  thus:  "Forrest's  dress  on  that  occasion 
was  not  marked  by  that  artistical  taste  which  has  since 
been  such  a  prominent  feature  in  his  impersonation  of 
character.  It  was  one  we  shall  never  forget.  He  wore 
3 


50  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

thick,  heavy  shoes,  coarse  woollen  stockings,  appertain 
ing  to  a  bluish  color,  a  short  white  dress  reaching,  with 
some  difficulty,  to  his  knees ;  on  his  head  he  wore  a 
bright  scarf,  intended  to  represent  a  sort  of  turban 
fashion  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Every  allusion  the 
lover  makes  to  Tier  beauty,  and  the  symmetry  of  her 
person,  and  that  matchless  excellence  which  is  to  be 
found  always  in  the  object  of  our  affections,  the  audi 
ence  laughed  at  most  heartily,  and  well  they  might, 
although  Forrest  and  Porter  played  their  respective 
parts  as  if  no  other  manifestations  than  that  of  delight 
were  given.  The  pugnacious  boy  alluded  to,  however, 
carried  the  joke  a  little  too  far,  for  Forrest  walked 
deliberately  down  to  the  feeble  foot-lights,  and,  shaking 
his  fist  at  the  pugnacious  boy,  said  in  a  loud  voice, 
"I'll  whip  you  when  the  play  is  over."  This  -silenced 
the  boy,  and  the  play  went  on. 

In  after  years  when  speaking  of  the  dress  he  wore 
on  the  occasion,  he  said :  "  The  dress  gave  the  most 
trouble,  I  was  under  the  impression  in  the  morning 
that  I  could  get  one  at  the  theatre.  Satisfied  of  this, 
I  made  no  attempt  to  get  one,  when,  to  my  surprise,  I 
found  there  was  nothing  in  the  theatre  wardrobe  to 
suit.  Something  must  be  done.  I  remembered  that 
there  was  a  woman  living  near  the  theatre  who  had  a 
daughter  about  my  size.  Away  I  started,  found  the 
woman,  and  coaxed,  begged  it  of  her,  and  gave  her  and 
her  daughter  a  pass  to  see  me  in  female  costume.  I 
carried  off  the  dress  in  triumph,  but,  alas !  when  I  put 
it  on,  it  came,  just  as  you  say,  to  my  knees.  Judge 
under  what  difficulty  I  played  the  fair  Rosolio." 

"  Then/'  he  went  on,  "  that  rascally  boy  who  an 
noyed  me,  and  whom  I  threatened,  as  you  know.  Well, 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  51 

after  the  play  was  over  I  looked  out  for  him,  and  I 
believe  he  was  looking  out  for  me.  It  was  the 
hardest  fight  I  ever  had,  and  to  this  day  I  cannot  tell 
who  conquered.  One  thing,  however,  I  do  remem 
ber.  We  became  excellent  friends,  and  he  took  every 
opportunity  afterward  of  keeping  good  order  among 
the  boys." 

It  may  be  well  to  state  that  this  "rascally  boy"  be 
came  a  wealthy  man,  and  to  the  day  of  his  death  was 
one  of  Mr.  Forrest's  warmest  friends. 

CHARLES    S.    PORTER. 

One  name  we  purposely  omitted  on  the  foregoing 
list,  as  it  deserves  a  more  special  notice — CHARLES 
S.  PORTER.  It  is  a  name  identified  with  that  of  the  sub 
ject  of  these  reminiscences  in  the  earliest  scenes  of  their 
amateur  performances.  Mr.  Porter  was  born  in  Bur 
lington  Co.  N.  J.,  July  25th,  1797.  His  parents  remo 
ving  to  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  he  was  placed  in  the 
newspaper  office  of  The  Freeman's  Journal,  to  learn 
the  art  of  printing.  He  soon  formed  the  acquaintance 
of  the  members  of  the  Amateur  Theatrical  Clubs,  and 
became  one  of  the  stars  of  the  old  South  Street  Theatre. 
The  first  time  we  saw  him  play,  was  in  the  year  1818, 
on  which  occasion  he  played  Young  Norval,  to  For 
rest's  Anna,  in  the  tragedy  of  Douglas. 

It  may  appear  strange  to  some  of  our  readers  in 
thus  speaking  of  Mr.  Forrest's  impersonating  female 
characters.  It  must  be  observed  in  this  connection  that 
as  a  boy  he  was  remarkably  handsome,  and  could  har 
monize  his  voice  so  as  to  imitate  most  admirably  that 
of  a  female ;  then  it  must  be  taken  into  consideration 
that  the  audience  was  composed  of  the  friends  of  the 


52  LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FORREST. 

actors,  except  on  some  occasion  for  a  benefit  either  of  a 
member,  or  some  society. 

His  second  appearance  was  as  Rudolph  in  The 
Bobbers  of  Calabria,  Forrest  playing  the  part  of  the 
beautiful  Rosolio.  The  friendship  between  these  two 
young  men,  although  Porter  was  much  older,  was  of  the 
Damon  and  Pythias  order,  and  continued  nearly  up 
to  their  death.  When  they  were  both  aged  men,  a 
simple  circumstance  broke  the  chain  of  friendship  which 
had  linked  them  together  for  nearly  forty  years.  We 
can  only  say  here,  without  referring  to  the  cause,  that 
Mr.  Forrest  was  to  blame. 

Mr.  Porter  was  the  leading  actor  at  the  Old  South 
Street  Theatre.  On  one  occasion  the  play  being  the 
Blind  Boy,  he  had  occasion  to  apologize  to  the  audi 
ence  for  the  young  man  who  was  to  have  played  Ed 
mund,  the  Blind  Boy,  and  another  was  called  upon 
to  read  the  part.  His  first  appearance  is  on  a  bridge, 
where  he  is  seen,  threading  his  way,  with  a  cane  in  one 
hand  and  the  play-book  in  the  other.  Whilst  his  eyes 
were  riveted  on  the  book,  his  cane  was  busily  engaged 
in  feeling  his  way.  This  was  too  ludicrous,  and  poor 
Edmund,  the  blind  boy,  had  no  sympathy  from  the  au 
dience  that  night.  One  night  we  remember  reading 
the  following  card,  printed  and  stuck  against  the  door 
of  the  box  office : 

SOUTH  STREET  THEATRE,  1816. — To-morrow  night  Clias.  S.  Por 
ter  will  enact  the  Man  of  Fortitude,  being;  for  his  benefit.  Tickets 
to  be  had  at  the  Coffee  House,  and  at  Tom  Bloxton's.  In  the 
evening,  at  the  door  of  the  theatre.  Members  of  Amateur  Associa 
tions,  and  his  brother  typos,  please  take  notice. 

Mr.  Porter  played  in  all  the  minor  theatres  of  this 
city,  "Tivoli  Garden/'  "Vauxhall  Garden,"  "Prune 
Street  Theatre,"  and  the  "  Old  Apollo, "  until  his  dra 
matic  excellence  attracted  the  attention  of  William 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  53 

B.  Wood,  of  the  Chestnut  Street  Theatre,  where  he 
became  a  great  favorite  with  the  public.  In  the  year 
1826,  May  16th,  he  took  a  benefit,  on  which  occasion, 
his  friend  Edwin  Forrest,  proffered  his  services,  and 
played  Pierre  to  Mr.  Porter's  Jaffier.  As  he  advanced 
in  the  profession,  he  became  in  time  manager,  and 
no  man  ever  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the  public 
as  did  Mr.  Porter  when  he  became  the  lessee  of  the 
Pittsburg  and  Vicksburg  theatres.  As  manager,  actor, 
gentleman  and  scholar,  Mr.  Porter  lived  and  died 
universally  esteemed  and  regretted.  His  decease  oc 
curred  October  5th,  1867. 

JAMES    H.    HACKETT. 

The  following  incident  in  connection  with  Charles 
S.  Porter  and  James  H.  Hackett,  is  too  good  to  be  lost. 
Shortly  after  Mr.  Porter  left  the  Old  South  Street 
Theatre,  he  went  to  New  York  and  offered  himself  to 
Messrs.  Price  and  Simpson.  He  was  refused.  While 
in  New  York  he  formed  the  acquaintance  of  young 
Hackett,  another  stage-struck  hero,  and  they  concluded 
to  make  a  theatrical  tour  on  their  own  "  hook,"  and 
Newark,  N.  J.,  was  fixed  upon  as  the  most  suitable 
place  to  make  a  beginning.  The  entertainment  con 
sisted  of  readings  and  recitations.  It  proved  a  failure. 
Hackett  had  assumed  the  name  of  Young,  but  Porter 
retained  his  own.  From  Newark  they  proceeded  to 
New  Brunswick.  Here  they  were  more  fortunate. 
An  amusing  incident  occurred  to  these  aspiring  youths 
while  here,  which  we  think  worth  relating.  A  military 
band,  composed  of  young  men  of  the  place,  had,  in  the 
most  friendly  manner,  volunteered  to  perform  for  them. 
A  full  house  was  anticipated.  From  some  unforeseen 


54  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

cause  they  failed  to  appear.  The  audience  became  im 
patient,  to  allay  which  it  was  necessary  that  an  apology 
should  be  made.  It  is  a  curious  fact  in  the  history  of 
actors  that  speech-making  comprises  no  part  of  their 
study.  Hence  it  is  that  when  it  is  necessary  to  address 
£n  audience,  many  of  them  are  worse  than  the  veriest 
amateur  of  a  Thespian  Association.  We  have  known 
Duff  to  stammer  to  such  a  degree  that  his  remarks 
were  perfectly  unintelligible.  Even  Cooper  became 
nervous,  and  Jefferson,  who  was  the  life  and  soul  of  a 
farce,  could  not  make  a  speech  without  exhibiting  the 
utmost  confusion.  Hackett  and  Porter  were  exactly  in 
this  position,  and  were  compelled  to  engage  the  ser 
vices  of  a  printer's  devil,  a  real  genuine  specimen  of 
that  mysterious  Satanic  class,  to  make  the  necessary 
apology.  It  was  to  this  effect :  That  in  consequence 
of  the  non-arrival  of  the  band,  Mr.  Young  would,  in 
stead,  recite  for  them  young  Norval's  speech.  The 
"  devil,"  glad  of  an  opportunity  to  appear  on  the  stage 
in  any  character,  and  paying  little  or  no  attention  to 
what  had  been  told  him,  stepped  boldly  before  the  au 
dience.  The  task,  however,  he  found  was  not  so  easy, 
as  the  sound  of  what  he  had  to  say,  and  not  the  words, 
were  buzzing  in  his  brain.  However,  he  essayed,  and 
thus  addressed  the  audience:  "Ladies  and  gentlemen, 
the  band  has  not  come" — a  pause — "the  band  not  be 
ing  come,  Mr.  Young  will  appear  as  a  steed,  and  give 
you  some  novels,  and  account  for  himself,  being  on  the 
'  Camphire  Hills/  ;;  This  was  received  with  shouts, 
and  when  Young  appeared,  he  was  hailed  with  deafen 
ing  applause.  Some  looked  for  the  fiery  steed,  others 
looked  for  the  novels.  Young  commenced :  "  My  name 
is  Norval."  Some  fellow  shouted  out :  "  Damn  your 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FOKKEST.  55 

name"  —  "on  the  Grampian  Hills,  my  father,  etc." 
When  he  came  to  feeding  the  flock,  another  voice 
yelled  out :  "  Never  mind  your  sheep,  give  us  the  nov 
els."  The  cry  became  general:  "The  books!  the 
books ! "  Young,  utterly  astonished,  rushed  off  the 
stage  to  find  Porter  and  the  devil  in  convulsions  of 
laughter.  The  band,  however,  at  that  moment  arrived, 
and  the  books  were  forgotten. 

Mr.  Hackett  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
March  15th,  1800.  He  died  on  Long  Island,  Decem 
ber  27th,  1871,  in  the  same  place  where,  fifty-five 
years  before,  he  had  formed  an  Amateur  Association, 
of  which  he  was  the  leading  spirit. 

Mr.  Forrest's  passion  for  the  stage  assumed  a  busi 
ness  character ;  he  intended  to  follow  it  as  a  profession, 
and  for  that  purpose  he  devoted  all  his  youthful  ener 
gies  to  that  end.  His  was  not  the  mere  desire  to  be 
considered  a  Payne  or  a  Betty,  he  had  none  of  that 
boyish  vanity  which  would  sacrifice  art  at  the  shrine  of 
folly.  In  all  that  he  undertook,  and  did,  he  was  serious 
and  in  earnest.  He  studied  much,  and  never  missed  an 
opportunity  of  witnessing  the  advent  of  some  popular 
star.  The  stage  at  that  period  was,  we  might  say,  in 
its  infancy,  at  least  as  regarded  its  national  character. 
An  opposition  was  continually  kept  up  against  theatri 
cal  amusements,  being  looked  upon  as  so  many  branch 
es  from  the  tree  of  evil,  planted  as  it  was  said  by  one 
William  Shakespeare  and  others,  to  corrupt  the  world. 
Under  these  circumstances  our  youthful  aspirants  for 
histrionic  fame  found  it  an  ungracious  undertaking. 
Indeed,  to  such  an  extent  was  this  spirit  of  opposition 
carried  that  many  of  the  young  men  connected  with  these 
amateur  companies,  lost  their  situations  as  clerks,  and 


56  LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FORREST. 

apprentices  were  actually  punished.  Jackson  Gray,  a 
boy  in  the  store  of  Wayne  &  Biddle,  hardware  mer 
chants  ;  Jack  Moore,  bookbinder  with  Eobert  Desilver, 
and  several  others,  were  compelled  to  adopt  the  stage 
as  a  profession,  in  consequence  of  the  prejudice  against 
actors.  Men,  who  in  after  years  fawned  upon  Mr.  For 
rest,  and  flattered  him,  for  they  had  made  the  discovery 
that  a  profession  by  which  a  man  became  rich,  must 
needs  be  respectable — had  sneered  at  his  youthful  efforts 
when  poor. 

"  If  there  is  a  sin  more  deeply  black  than  others, 
Distinguish' d  from  the  list  of  common  crimes, 
A  legion  in  itself,  and  doubly  dear 
To  the  dark  prince  of  hell,  it  is — HYPOCRISY." 

There  is  not  one  period  of  our  life  to  which  we  re 
fer  with  more  real  pleasure  than  that  which  was  con 
nected  with  the  old  theatres.  Places  of  amusement 
were  few ;  there  was  but  one  theatre  where  the  legiti 
mate  drama  was  produced,  and  that  was  the  Chestnut 
Street  Theatre,  better  known  in  after  years  as  "Old 
Drury." 

After  the  destruction  of  this  time  honored  Temple, 
which  occurred  on  Sunday  evening,  April  2d,  1820, 
the  Walnut  Street  Theatre  then  became  a  promi 
nent  place  of  amusement,  under  the  management  of 
Messrs.  Warren  &  Wood.  As  the  Apollo  Theatre 
was  the  scene  of  Mr.  Forrest's  early  dramatic  efforts, 
and  up  to  a  certain  period  in  our  stage  history,  was 
the  fashionable  resort  for  the  aristocracy  of  our  city, 
some  account  of  it  may  not  prove  uninteresting  to  our 
readers. 

After  the  close  of  the  theatre  at  South  and  Yernon 
Streets,  in  December,  1760,  the  company  of  Douglass 
remained  away  from  the  city  for  more  than  five  years. 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FOEEEST.  57 

The  theatre  had  in  the  meanwhile  fallen  into  other 
hands,  and  Douglass,  the  manager,  therefore  took 
measures  to  erect  a  new  house,  much  larger  than  the 
first  one.  It  was  built  at  the  south-west  corner  of 
Cedar,  or  South  Street,  and  a  small  street  afterwards 
called  Crab  Street — at  other  times  Apollo  Street  and 
Charles  Street — between  Fourth  and  Fifth.  This 
company,  which  first  entitled  itself  "a  company  of 
comedians  from  London,"  now  assumed  the  title  of 
"  The  American  Company."  Douglass  still  remained 
the  manager.  This  continued  to  be  the  principal  place 
of  amusement  up  to  the  erection  of  the  Chestnut 
Street  Theatre  (Old  Drury)  in  1793. 

The  Apollo  was  not  built  entirely  of  wood,  as  was 
supposed ;  the  walls  up  to  the  second  story  were  brick ; 
when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1821,  the  walls  alone 
remained.  When  we  first  visited  it,  in  1815,  it  pre 
sented  more  the  appearance  of  a  good  sized  Pennsylva 
nia  barn — one  large  door  in  the  centre,  with  two  small 
windows  on  each  side  of  it,  were  all  the  architectural 
features  that  presented  themselves  to  our  view ;  the 
whole  of  the  front  was  painted  red.  The  view  from 
the  boxes  was  intercepted  by  large  pillars,  supporting 
the  upper  tier  and  roof.  It  was  lighted  by  plain  oil 
lamps  without  globes,  a  row  of  which  were  placed 
in  front  of  the  stage.  The  scenery  was  dingy — cham 
ber  scenes  taken  from  descriptions  of  old  castles,  and 
altogether  the  whole  presented  a  dark  and  sombre  ap 
pearance.  There  were  two  old  musicians,  to  whom  we 
have  already  alluded,  who  fiddled  away  in  the  orchestra 
as  if  life  and  death  depended  upon  their  exertions,  and 
the  airs  they  played  sounded  as  echoes  from  the  tomb. 
Then  the  characters  on  the  stage,  with  costumes  com- 


58  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

bining  almost  every  style  of  past  ages,  and  with  coun 
tenances  of  marked  ferocity,  making  rapid  strides,  Tar- 
quin-like,  toward  some  innocent  victim  on  whom  they 
were  going  to  inflict  some  grievous  wrong.  Much  of 
the  scenery  was  painted  by  the  unfortunate  Major 
Andre,  assisted  by  Captain  Delancy,  during  the  time 
the  British  had  possession  of  Philadelphia.  Mr. 
Charles  Durang,  speaking  of  this  old  theatre  and  of 
the  gentlemen  we  have  just  named,  said : 

"  They  added  some  very  useful  and  beautiful  scenes 
to  the  old  stock.  One  scene,  from  the  brush  of  Andre, 
deserves  record.  It  was  a  landscape,  presenting  a  dis 
tant  champagne  country  and  a  winding  rivulet  ex 
tending  from  the  front  of  the  picture  to  the  extreme 
distance.  In  the  foreground  and  centre  was  a  gen 
tle  cascade,  the  water  exquisitely  executed,  over 
shadowed  by  a  group  of  majestic  forest  trees.  The 
perspective  was  excellently  preserved ;  the  foliage, 
verdure,  and  general  coloring,  artistically  toned  and 
glazed.  The  subject  of  this  scene  and  its  treatment 
was  eminently  indicative  of  the  bland  tone  of  the  ill- 
fated  major's  mind — ever  running  in  a  calm  and  har 
monious  mood. 

"  It  was  a  drop  scene,  and  hung  about  the  middle  of 
the  third  entrance,  as  called  in  stage  directions.  The 
name  of  Andre  was  inscribed  in  large  black  letters  on 
the  back  of  it — thus  put,  no  doubt,  by  his  own  hand 
on  its  completion,  as  is  sometimes  the  custom  with 
scenic  artists.  It  was  burnt,  with  the  rest  of  the  sce 
nery,  at  the  destruction  of  the  theatre  in  1821.  It 
would  have  been  a  precious  relic  at  the  present  day  for 
its  very  interesting  associations. 

"  Poor  Andre  little  thought,  while  he  was  painting 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  59 

that  scene,  that  in  a  few  short  years  afterwards  it 
would  be  used  in  a  national  play  written  on  the  subject 
of  his  capture  and  death.  It  was  so  used  in  the  sum 
mer  of  1807 — on  the  4th  of  July — at  the  old  South 
Street  Theatre,  as  representing  the  pass  on  the  banks 
of  the  Hudson  River  where  he  was  taken  by  the  three 
militiamen.  It  was  the  only  suitable  scene  in  the 
house  which  would  answer  for  the  locality  without 
painting  one  expressly  for  it.  The  piece  had  no  merit 
as  a  drama,  and  was  only  concocted  for  holiday  occa 
sions.  It  was  a  sort  of  hybrid  affair — fulsome  in 
dialogue  and  pantomime,  full  of  Yankee  notions  and 
patriotic  clap-trap ;  but  incessant  laughter  and  ap 
plause  of  a  crowded  house,  I  well  remember,  rewarded 
the  company's  efforts." 

The  stage-box  on  the  east  side,  in  after  years,  was 
fitted  up  for  President  Washington  whenever  he  hon 
ored  the  theatre  with  his  presence,  at  which  time  The 
Poor  Soldier  was  played  by  desire.  The  drop  cur 
tain  to  which  so  much  interest  was  attached,  was 
painted  by  Major  Andre.  We  well  remember,  when 
the  theatre  was  destroyed  by  fire,  the  extraordinary 
efforts  made  by  firemen  and  others  to  save  this  curtain 
from  the  flames  ;  all  attempts  however  proved  unavail 
ing,  and  that,  with  many  other  relics  of  by-gone  days, 
fell  a  victim  to  the  all-devouring  fiend.  After  the  fire, 
it  was  discovered  that  the  walls  were  not  injured,  and 
from  its  ruins  a  distillery  phcenix-like  arose.  Dunlap, 
in  speaking  of  the  fire,  says:  "Once  pouring  out  a 
mangled  stream  of  good  and  evil,  is  now  dispensing 
%)urely  evil." 

Reminiscences,  however,  are  but  retrogressive  shad 
ows  which  cast  a  gloom  over  the  present,  still,  as  we 


60  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

glance  back  o'er  the  past,  gleams  of  sunlight  come  up 
to  cast  a  more  cheerful  ray  on  the  future.  Memory 
leads  us — 

"  Back 

In  mournful  mockery  o'er  the  shining  track 
Of  our  young  life,  and  point  out  every  ray 
Of  hope,  and  peace  we've  lost  upon  the  way." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

HIS  FIRST  APPEARANCE  ON  A  REGULAR  STAGE. — FINDS 

A    FRIEND    IN     COL.    JOHN    SWIFT.  THE     SPIRIT    OF 

THE    BOY   FORESHADOWS    THE  GENIUS    OF   THE   MAN. 

YOUNG    NORVAL. THE    AMATEUR    MERGES     INTO 

THE    ACTOR. PREPARES     FOR    A    WESTERN    TOUR. — • 

THE     DRAMA     IN    CINCINNATI. SOL.    SMITH. THE 

DRAKE  FAMILY. FORREST'S  JOURNEY. STAGE 
COACH  ADVENTURE. MEETS  THE  HON.  SIMON  CAM 
ERON.  HIS  FIRST  APPEARANCE  IN  CINCINNATI. 

THE    UPS    AND     DOWNS    OF     STAGE    LIFE.  —  THE 

DREAM    OF    THE   BOY   REALIZED    IN    MANHOOD. 

HHHE  same  spirit  that  actuated  young  Forrest  to 
-1-  form  amateur  companies,  extended  to  others 
equa-lly  enthusiastic  and  ambitious.  Among  those 
who  followed  the  example  of  this  young  pioneer  were 
James  E.  Murdock,  Harris  G.  Pearson,  Edmon  S.  Con 
nor  and  John  E.  Scott,  these  were  all  Philadelphia 
apprentice  boys,  and  their  names  are  now  enrolled 
among  the  best  of  those  whose  genius  and  talents 
gave  to  our  stage  "a  local  habitation  and  a  name." 
The  limited  means  of  the  family  debarred  him  from 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  61 

taking  those  lessons  in  elocution,  which  are  so  essential 
to  aid  the  aspirant  for  public  honors.  Nature,  however, 
was  an  able  teacher,  and  with  her  assistance  he  had 
conquered  many  difficulties,  both  in  action  and  speech. 
Instruction  generally  is  more  readily  gained  through 
the  eye  than  by  means  of  any  other  sense ;  and  thus 
the  exhibition  of  that  which  is  refined  and  good  in  our 
nature  has  a  tendency  to  lift  us  above  all  the  mechani 
cal  rules  of  mere  art,  and  creates  an  enthusiasm  and  an 
ambition  to  appear  in  real  life,  like  what  we  have  wit 
nessed  on  the  stage.  It  is  action,  blended  with  the 
emotions,  which,  by  the  aid  of  scenery,  may  be  con 
sidered  the  best  teacher  for  those  who  are  anxious  to 
become  actors.  Young  as  Forrest  was  at  that  time, 
he  knew  there  were  certain  rules  to  be  observed,  of 
which  he,  as  yet,  knew  but  little.  He  had  seen  Cooper, 
whose  action  arose  from  the  dignity  of  the  character  he 
represented.  He  saw  before  him  not  the  mere  elocu 
tionist,  but  the  Coriolanus,  Damon,  and  Virginius  of 
history.  Everything  allied  to  mere  art  was  no  longer 
stage  appendages. 

Brilliant  talent — great  histrionic  power — are  always 
to  be  found  with  those  who  studied  the  art  histrionic 
aya  science,  and  pursued  it  as  one  of  the  learned  pro 
fessions.  The  light  from  such  stars  still  linger  on  the 
stage  to  shine  like  "a  good  deed  in  a  naughty  world." 
The  young  actor  who  selects  a  great  one  for  his  model, 
should  endeavor  to  imitate  his  mental  as  well  as  his 
physical  qualities.  The  physical  grandeur  of  the  man 
— his  fine  perception  of  the  beauties  of  art — his  classi 
cal  elegance  of  action  and  perfect  marks  of  eloquence — 
present  to  the  student  the  best  models  for  copy,  to 
form  the  image  he  purposes  to  impersonate.  Many 


62  LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOREEST. 

young  actors  imagine  themselves  perfect,  and  pay  little 
or  no  attention  to  the  full  latitude  of  the  object  they 
have  in  view,  but  form  it  according  to  the  scanty  model 
of  their  own  capacity.  If  intellect  is  not  made  the  me 
dium  through  which  true  art  is  to  be  carried  out  on  the 
stage,  the  aspirant  for  histrionic  fame  will  never  become 
a  master. 

Mr.  Forrest  had  Cooper  for  his  classic  model,  who 
was  the  Demosthenes  of  the  drama,  and  so  well  did  he 
study  in  that  school  that  he  in  time  became  its  Talma. 
Forrest  did  not  think  "  himself  perfect ;  "  he  knew  there 
were  certain  rules,  correct  pronunciation,  action,  ele 
gance  and  grace  to  be  learned  and  attained,  before  he 
could  face  an  intelligent  audience.  One  year  before  his 
first  appearance  on  a  regular  stage,  he  placed  himself 
under  the  tuition  of  MR.  DANIEL  MAGINNIS,  teacher 
of  elocution,  No.  83  Locust  Street.  Nature  and  study 
did  the  rest. 

We  have  said  that  Colonel  John  Swift  took  great 
interest  in  young  Forrest,  and  wishing  to  advance  him 
in  the  profession  he  was  determined  to  adopt,  waited  on 
William  B.  Wood,  the  acting  manager  of  the  Walnut 
Street  Theatre,  and  stated  the  object  of  his  visit,  which 
was  to  secure  a  night  for  the  first  appearance  of  his 
young  proteg/.  The  request  was  promptly  refused  by 
Mr.  Wood,  who  remarked :  "  We  have  been  so  unfortu 
nate  in  the  numerous  l  first  appearances '  of  late  that 
the  young  aspirant  could  hope  for  little  encouragement 
of  his  wishes ;  the  drooping  state  of  the  drama  fur 
nishes  another  and  stronger  reason  for  our  course." 
The  usual  arguments  were  used  with  some  success, 
for  the  managers  finally  consented  to  give  the  youth 
ful  Koscius  one  night.  Mr.  Wood,  speaking  of  Mr. 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FORREST.  G3 

Forrest,  says :  "  Master  Edwin  Forrest  was  sixteen 
years  of  age,  he  was  a  well-grown  young  man,  with 
a  noble  figure,  unusually  developed  for  his  age,  his  fea 
tures  powerfully  expressive,  and  of  a  determination  of 
purpose  which  discouraged  all  further  objections."  As 
this  was  the  most  important  event  in  the  life  of  young 
Forrest,  his  first  appearance  on  a  regular  stage,  sup 
ported  by  eminent  artists,  the  cast  of  the  play  is 
equally  important  in  connection  with  the  event.  Mr. 
Wood  judged  the  age  of  Mr.  Forrest  from  his  appear 
ance  ;  at  that  time  he  was  only  fourteen  years  of  age. 

WALNUT    STREET    THEATRE. 

Monday  evening-,  November  27,  1820. 
Will  be  presented  the  tragedy  (in  5  acts)  called 

DOUGLAS;    OR    THE    NOBLE    SHEPHERD. 
Written  by  Mr.  Home. 

YOUNG  NoRVAL By  a  Young  Gentleman  of  this  city. 

LORD  RANDOLPH MR.  WIIEATLEY. 

GLENALVON MR.  W.  B.  WOOD. 

OLD  NORVAL MR.  WARREN. 

NORVAL'S  SERVANT MR.  MARTIN. 

FIRST  OFFICER MR.  SCRIVENER 

SECOND  OFFICER MR.  CARTER. 

THIRD  OFFICER MR.  PARKER. 

LADY  RANDOLPH MRS.  WILLIAMS. 

ANNA MRS.  JEFFERSON. 

Instead  of  being  aone  opening  night,"  the  success 
of  the  "Young  Koscius"  was  so  apparent  that  a  re 
petition  of  the  play  was  asked  for,  which  soon  followed, 
and  with  increased  approbation.  Soon  after  he  added 
to  his  reputation  by  a  spirited  effort  as  Frederick,  in 
Lover's  Vows,  and  Octavian,  in  the  Mountaineers. 
On  the  occasion  of  his  benefit  he  recited  Goldsmith's 
celebrated  Epilogue  in  the  character  of  a  harlequin, 
and  concluded  by  turning  a  somersault  through  a 
balloon. 

Perhaps  a  better  school,  or  one  more  purely  legiti- 


64  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

mate,  could  not  have  been  selected  at  the  period  than 
this,  for  the  advent  of  a  debutant,  nor  has  there  been 
a  company  since,  which  could  compete  with  the  old 
Chestnut  Street  stock.  Forrest  enacted  Young  Norval, 
with  a  cast  of  characters  which  could  not  have  been 
equalled  in  the  country  then,  nor  has  it  been  since.  Its 
members  were  of  the  old  English  school,  and  could 
trace  their  tutors  from  the  days  of  Garrick.  The  pro 
fession  with  them  was  an  art,  and  it  was  looked  up  to 
as  one  of  the  highest,  and  respected  accordingly.  Mr. 
Wood's  Glenalvon  we  shall  never  cease  to  remember, 
and  Warren's  Old  Norval  was  one  of  the  gems  of  the 
day.  Thus,  when  Forrest  stepped  on  the  stage  and  re 
hearsed  his  part,  the  strict  observance  of  propriety,  the 
marked  deference  paid  to  the  lady  actresses,  and  all  the 
etiquette  of  the  green-room,  laid  the  foundation  of 
that  marked  reverence  for  the  beauties  of  the  drama, 
which  he  has  strictly  paid  at  its  altar  since. 

It  was  in  such  a  school  Forrest  received  his  first 
lesson  in  the  art  histrionic.  The  strict  observance  of 
all  the  rules  that  compose  propriety,  the  etiquette  ob 
served  in  the  green-room,  the  marked  deference  paid 
to  the  lady  actresses — all  he  said,  "made  him  feel  as 
if  he  stood  in  the  presence  of  kings  and  princes." 
Such  indeed  they  were  as  the  representatives  of  those  of 
the  "mimic  world."  Thus,  at  an  age  of  fourteen,  he 
found  himself  surrounded  with  such  men  as  Wood, 
Warren,  Francis,  Jefferson,  Burke,  Darley,  Wilson, 
Green,  Wheatley,  Hathwell ;  and  ladies,  whose  names 
are  a  part  of  our  stage  history,  Mesdames  Wood, 
Francis,  Williams,  Darley,  Eatwistle,  Jefferson,  Burke, 
etc.  He  went  forth  from  this  school  with  impressions 
of  the  most  pleasing  character — impressions  that  gave 


LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FORREST.  (J5 

him  a  high  estimate  of  the  drama  and  a  fixed  deter 
mination  to  make  the  stage  the  stepping-stone  to  fame. 
There  were  times,  however,  when  this  resolve  wavered, 
•it  was  when  he  hesitated  between  the  ring  of  a  circus 
and  the  theatre.  Saw  dust,  and  the  excitement  of  the 
equestrian  pageantry  had  their  charms ;  but  his  good 
genius  came  to  the  rescue  and  saved  him  from  being 
the  Tatnell  *  of  the  first  and  made  him  the  Garrick 
of  the  latter. 

After  consultation  with  his  friends  and  the  mana 
gers,  it  was  resolved  that  Master  Edwin  Forrest  should 
abandon  the  young  Eoscius  plan,  and  take  a  wider 
range  through  the  western  country  ;  for  that  purpose 
John  Swift  furnished  him  with  funds,  and  "he  left 
us,v  said  Mr.  Wood,  "  with  favorable  auguries  for  the 
future/' 

Cincinnati  at  that  time  was  the  only  city  where  the 
drama  had  taken  root,  from  whence  a  Forest  was  to 
grow !  As  this  was  the  second  move  the  young  Koscius 
made  on  the  drama's  board,  and  from  which  important 
point  in  his  life  we  may  date  his  future  movements  to 
the  highest  honor  the  stage  confers  on  its  votaries, 
some  account  of  the  state  of  the  drama  in  the  West  at 
that  time  may  not  prove  uninteresting. 

As  early  as  1805,  some  itinerants  made  their  ap 
pearance  in  Cincinnati,  and  gave  readings  and  recita 
tions,  and  during  several  succeeding  years,  strolling 
companies,  without  "name  or  fame,"  stopped  on  their 
way  to  the  "  dark  and  bloody  ground,"  and  gave  ex- 

*  Samuel  Tatnell,  a  celebrated  equestrian,  who  created  quite 
an  excitement  in  Philadelphia,  at  the  Olympic  Theatre,  in  1822,  by 
his  fearless  riding.  He  was  the  first,  we  believe,  who  rode  a 
"  fiery  steed "  without  saddle  or  bridle,  in  the  country,  or  at  least 
the  first  of  any  repute. 
4 


66  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

hibitions,  more  for  the  purpose  of  defraying  expenses 
than  anything  else.  In  1815,  a  society  of  young  men, 
amateurs,  erected  a  wooden  edifice,  for  the  dramatic 
muse ;  no  objection  seems  to  have  been  made  against 
it,  by  the  religious,  until  a  strolling  company  came, 
who  were  permitted  to  play  in  it.  Then  commenced 
the  "  tug  of  war,"  the  "clergy  were  in  arms  and  eager 
for  the  fray,"  as  they  always  are  when  the  Theatre  is 
the  shaft  for  their  venomed  darts ;  it  was  urged  by 
them  that  it  encouraged  a  set  of  wandering  vagabonds, 
and  engrossed  the  time  of  the  people,  that  it  was  an 
idle  and  demoralizing  profession,  etc.  They  were 
strongly  supported  by  the  bigoted  —  the  company 
vanished,  and  even  the  amateurs  had  to  yield  to  the 
overwhelming  arguments  of  the  clergy,  and  the  temple 
of  the  muses,  the  queen  of  the  arts  and  sciences,  the 
governess  of  music,  and  the  concentration  of  rays 
from  the  brightest  luminaries  in  the  hemisphere  of 
learning  was  closed. 

Among  those  who  made  what  is  here  termed  theat 
rical  tours  in  the  far  West,  was  Mr.  Wm.  Turner.  He 
can  claim  rank  with  the  earliest  pioneers  in  the  drama's 
cause  beyond  the  Blue  Kidge.  As  early  as  1810-11 
he  performed  in  various  towns  of  the  West,  and  was  a 
regular  visitor  at  that  early  period,  to  many  places 
where  the  music  of  the  Thespian  band  had  never  been 
heard.  In  1815,  a  Thespian  company  had  a  theatre 
in  Cincinnati,  from  whom  Mr.  Turner  rented  it  for 
twelve  nights,  and  performed  The  Stranger,  Othello, 
School  for  Scandal,  Man  and  Wife,  The  Eivals,  Kichard 
III.,  Cure  for  the  Heart  Ache,  Lover's  Vows,  Hamlet, 
Wheel  of  Fortune,  Alexander  the  Great,  Romeo  and 
Juliet,  etc.  The  reader  will  perceive  that  the  legiti- 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  57 

mate  was  decidedly  the  object  of  the  manager.  His 
company  at  that  period  consisted  of  Mr.  Collins,  Mr. 
Caulfield  (who  died  in  April,  1815),  Morgan,  Jefferson, 
Anderson,  Laidly,  Bob  Laidly,  Cargel,  Lucas,  Turner, 
Beale,  Mrs.  Turner,  Mrs.  Barrett,  and  Mrs.  Milner. 
This  campaign  commenced  April  3d,  1815. 

Mr.  Drake  and  family  emigrated  to  the  West  in 
1815,  upon  an  invitation  from  Mr.  Luke  Usher,  who  had 
some  time  previously  established  theatres  in  Frankfort 
and  Lexington.  The  Louisville  Theatre,  which  has 
since  been  enlarged  to  its  present  size,  was  built,  and 
in  a  short  time  Mr.  Drake  had  the  control  of  all  the 
theatres  in  Kentucky. 

The  following  persons  composed  what  may  properly 
be  termed  the  Pioneer  Company  of  the  West ;  Messrs. 
Drake,  Blisset,  Lewis,  Ludlow,  S.  Drake,  Jr.,  Alexan 
der  Drake,  Jas.  Drake,  Mrs.  Lewis,  Miss  Denny,  and 
Miss  Julia  Drake. 

In  1819,  a  small  company  under  the  management 
of  Mr.  Blanchard,  visited  Cincinnati,  and  performed  a 
few  nights  in  Mr.  Dawson's  school-room,  in  Water 
Street. 

The  foundation  of  the  Columbia  Street  Theatre  was 
laid  this  year,  and  the  company  of  Messrs.  Collins  & 
Jones  performed  for  a  short  season  in  the  second  story 
of  Burrows  &  Turner's  store,  corner  of  Columbia  and 
Walnut  Streets.  Next  year,  1820,  the  theatre  opened 
with  Wives  as  They  Were,  with  the  following  persons 
in  the  cast.  Sir  Wm.  Dorrillon,  Mr.  Collins,  Bronzely, 
Mr.  Jones,  Lord  Priorry,  Mr.  Lucas,  Miss  Dorrillon,  and 
Mrs.  Groshon.  Collins  was  an  excellent  actor,  so  was 
Jones.  Mrs.  Groshon  was  deservedly  a  great  favorite ; 
she  was  an  excellent  Lady  Macbeth.  James  M.  Scott, 


68  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

since  known  as  "Long  Tom  Coffin,"  was  a  leading 
member  of  the  company. 

A  company  consisting  of  Messrs.  A.  Drake,  S. 
Drake,  Jr.,  Palmer,  Fisher,  Douglass,  Jones,  Sol.  Smith 
and  Mesdames  Morgan,  Fisher,  and  three  or  four  young 
Fishers',  followed.  With  a  company  so  limited  in 
number,  it  will  be  supposed  the  selection  of  pieces  must 
have  been  extremely  circumscribed,  but  this  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  the  case,  for  we  find  they  perform 
ed  such  pieces  as  Pizarro,  The  Poor  Gentleman, 
and  other  equally  full  plays.  The  following  was  the 
cast  for 

PIZARRO. 
..'....'•'.::  ............................  ME.S.DKAKE. 


HIGH  PRIEST  .............................  MR.  SOL.  SMITH! 

ALMAGRO  .................................  MR.  SOL.  SMITH  !  ! 

BLIND  MAN  ..............................  MR.  SOL.  SMITH  !  1  ! 

SENTINEL  ..................................  MR.  SOL.  SMITH  !  !  !  ! 

VAL  VERDE  ................................  MR.  SOL.  SMITH  !  !  !  !  ! 

GUARD  ...................................  MR.  SOL.  SMITH  !!!!!! 

THE  WHOLE  OP  THE  SPANISH  ARMY  .......  MR.  SOL.  SMITH  !!!!!!! 

All  these  seven  characters  were  represented  by  Mr. 
Sol.  Smith. 

We  find  the  name  of  Sol.  Smith  among  those  who 
formed  the  company  of  1821,  acting  as  prompter.  The 
company  consisted  of  Messrs.  Collins,  Jones,  Cargill, 
Hays,  Henderson,  Miss  Denny,  Mrs.  Groshon,  Mrs. 
Jones,  Mrs.  Hanna,  and  Miss  Seymour,  afterwards  Mrs. 
Cargill.  Mr.  Cooper  performed  an  engagement  during 
the  season.  On  the  first  night  of  his  engagement,  the 
following  whimsical  incident  occurred.  Othello  was 
the  play  : 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  G9 

"The  fame  of  the  great  tragedian  had  drawn  a 
crowded  audience,  composed  of  every  description  of 
persons,  and  among  the  rest  a  country  lass  of  sixteen, 
whom  (not  knowing  her  real  name)  we  will  call  Peggy. 
Peggy  had  never  before  seen  the  inside  of  a  playhouse. 
She  entered  at  the  time  Othello  was  making  his  defence 
before  the  duke  and  senators.  The  audience  were  un 
usually  attentive  to  the  play,  and  Peggy  was  permit 
ted  to  walk  in  the  lobby  until  she  arrived  at  the  door  of 
the  stage-box,  when  a  gentleman  handed  her  in,  with 
out  withdrawing  his  eyes  from  the  celebrated  performer, 
and  her  beau,  a  country  boy,  was  obliged  to  remain  in 
the  lobby.  Miss  Peggy  stared  about  for  a  moment,  as 
if  doubting  whether  she  was  in  her  proper  place,  till 
casting  her  eyes  on  the  stage,  she  observed  several 
chairs  unoccupied.  It  is  probable  this  circumstance 
alone  would  not  have  induced  her  to  take  the  step  she 
did,  but  she  observed  the  people  on  the  stage  appeared 
more  at  their  ease  than  those  among  whom  she  was 
standing,  and  withal  much  more  sociable,  and  as  fate 
would  have  it,  just  at  that  moment,  Othello,  looking 
nearly  towards  the  place  where  she  was  situated,  ex 
claimed  : 

'  Here  comes  the  lady.' 

"The  senators  half  rose,  in  expectation  of  seeing 
the  '  gentle  Desdemona/  when  lo !  the  maiden  from  the 
country  stepped  from  the  box  plump  on  the  stage,  and 
advanced  towards  the  expecting  Moor.  It  is  impossible 
to  give  any  idea  of  the  confusion  that  followed ;  the 
audience  clapped  and  cheered — the  duke  and  senators 
forgot  their  dignity — the  girl  was  ready  to  sink  with 
consternation — even  Cooper  himself  could  not  help 


70  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

joining  in  the  general  mirth.  The  uproar  lasted  for 
several  minutes,  until  the  gentleman  who  had  handed 
her  into  the  box,  helped  the  blushing  girl  out  of  her 
unpleasant  situation.  It  was  agreed  by  all  present  that 
a  lady  never  made  her  debut  on  any  stage  with  more 
eclat  than  Miss  Peggy." 

Cincinnati  at  that  period  was  the  Athens  of  the 
drama  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge,  but  unlike  Athens  of 
old,  she  gave  her  Thespians  something  better  than  a 
wagon  for  their  exhibition. 

The  first  newspaper  printed  north  of  the  Ohio  River, 
and  the  third  west  of  the  mountains,  was  issued  at  this 
place,  November  9th,  1793,  by  William  Maxwell ;  its 
name  was  the  Sentinel  of  the  Northwestern  Territory, 
its  motto  "open  to  all  parties."  In  1811  the  first 
public  school  was  erected  ;  and  in  1814  we  find  a  semi 
nary  was  instituted,  under  the  name  of  the  Cincinnati 
Lancastrian  Seminary.  In  this  year  the  public  library, 
which,  for  the  space  of  five  years,  had  been  struggling 
with  "  causes  and  effects,"  for  an  existence,  commenced 
its  infantile  operations,  with  eight  hundred  volumes, 
the  usual  number  of  a  private  library.  To  trace  the 
gradual  rise  of  the  city,  in  all  the  various  departments 
of  literature,  commerce,  etc.,  would  be  one  of  much 
interest,  and  productive  of  much  pleasure.  In  1831  we 
find  established  a  wholesome  system  of  education  ;  the 
Legislature  of  1825  having  passed  a  law,  laying  the 
foundation  of  a  system  of  free  schools  throughout  the 
State;  and  in  addition  to  which  a  special  act  having 
been  passed,  making  more  ample  provision  in  Cincin 
nati.  The  city  authorities  in  1831  commenced  opera 
tions  under  this  law,  and  schools  have  been  established 
in  the  different  districts,  sufficient  to  accommodate  all 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORKEST.  71 

the  children  of  a  proper  age,  and  to  continue  the  year 
round.  These  schools  are  free,  and  open  to  all  classes, 
without  distinction,  and  are  supported  by  a  tax. 

In  1815  the  population  of  Cincinnati  was  about 
thirty  thousand.  The  increase  of  this,  next  to  the 
largest  city  in  the  West,  will  show  an  account  for  the 
extraordinary  increase,  and  the  rapid  advancement  of 
the  arts  and  sciences  through  such  a  vast  section  of  our 
country,  which  was  a  half  century  ago  almost  a  wilder 
ness.  Cincinnati,  in  1815,  was  but  a  young  city,  what 
is  she  now  in  1873  ?  Possessing  a  population  of  nearly 
220,000 !  ? 

Such  was  the  state  of  the  drama  in  the  West,  when 
Edwin  Forrest  started  from  Philadelphia,  in  the  year 
1822,  to  join  a  theatrical  company  in  Cincinnati. 

"  When  young  with  sanguine  cheer  and  streamers  gay 
We  cut  our  cable — launch  into  the  world, 
And  fondly  dream  each  wind  and  star  our  friend." 

On  his  way  he  met  with  a  few  obstacles,  which  his 
youth  naturally  incurred,  these  however  he  soon  over 
come.  On  the  route  to  Pittsburg,  at  one  of  the  stop 
ping  places  two  gentlemen  got  on  the  stage,  they  were 
evidently  of  the  better  class,  in  whose  conversation 
Forrest  became  much  interested,  and  listened  with 
much  attention.  One  of  the  gentlemen  was  called  by  the 
other,  General.  After  listening  some  time,  chance  gave 
him  an  opportunity  of  putting  in  a  word,  which  he  did, 
and  to  some  purpose,  for  his  two  travelling  companions 
became  in  their  turn  interested.  Boy-like,  Forrest  told 
his  simple  story  of  how  he  made  his  first  appearance  on 
the  stage,  and  his  ambition  to  become  a  great  actor. 
"  And  so,"  said  the  younger  of  the  two,  "you  are  Mas 
ter  Forrest  ?  I  am  glad  to  meet  you,  young  sir,  as  I 


72  LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FORREST. 

have  heard  you  surpassed  Master  Payne  in  Young 
Norval.  But  you  have  undertaken  a  great  task,  and 
at  your  age  there  are  so  many  temptations  in  your 
path  that  it  will  require  the  strength  of  manhood  to 
resist." 

"  But  I  will  resist,  sir,  and  if  I  live  I  will  carve  for 
myself  a  name." 

"  That  you  will  if  you  maintain  the  character  you 
have  already,  and  study  with  an  eye  to  that  object/' 
observed  the  elder  traveller. 

Mr.  Forrest,  in  relating  this  little  incident  to  us, 
laughed  heartily  while  doing  so,  "for,"  says  he,  "al 
though  but  sixteen,  I  really  thought  myself  a  second 
Cooper,  and  vain  enough  to  think  I  was  capable  of  hold 
ing  conversation  and  maintaining  an  argument  with 
any  one."  One  of  these  gentleman — the  younger  of 
the  two  alluded  to — was  Simon  Cameron,  and  when 
Mr.  Forrest  met  him  in  after  years,  the  fulfilment  of 
his  ambitious  youthful  aspirations  was  the  subject  of  a 
very  pleasing  conversation. 

In  the  fall  of  1822,  Messrs.  Collins  and  Jones 
opened  the  Cincinnati  Theatre,  the  company  consist 
ing  of  Messrs.  Collins,  Jones,  Scott,  Edwin  Forrest, 
Davis,  Eberle,  Henderson,  Groshon,  Mrs.  Pelby,  Mrs. 
Kiddle,  Miss  Kiddle,  Miss  Henton,  and  Miss  Eliza 
Kiddle.  The  opening  play  was  the  Soldier's  Daugh 
ter.  Young  Malfort  by  Edwin  Forrest. 

During  the  season  Mr.  Pelby  acted  as  a  star, 
Forrest  playing  Titus  to  his  Brutus,  and  Julius  to  Vir- 
ginius.  It  will  be  perceived  that  he  made  a  nattering 
beginning,  and  everything  looked  bright  before  him. 
With  varied  success  the  company  played  for  a  short 
season,  and  then  proceeded  to  Louisville.  Some  diffi- 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEREST.  73 

culty  arising  between  the  managers  and  a  portion  of 
the  company,  induced  a  few  of  the  latter  to  return  to 
Cincinnati  and  open  the  Globe  Theatre  on  Maine  street. 
At  this  house  Forrest  played  Othello  and  other  charac 
ters  with  much  success — "  but  rather  imperfect/'  says 
an  old  friend,  "with  scarcely  a  knoivledge  of  the  text." 
The  success  lie  rather  in  his  appearance  and  voice. 
Mr.  Forrest  played  Richard  III.  for  his  benefit.  The 
same  critic  said,  after  seeing  his  Richard,  "that  he 
would  in  time  become  a  great  actor."  In  conversation 
with  Mr.  Forrest,  in  relation  to  these  early  scenes  of 
his  life,  he  said  :  "  The  salary  I  got  was  so  small  that 
I  was  unable  to  appear  on  the  street  in  a  decent  dress 
— boots,  particularly,  gave  me  the  most  trouble,  for  I 
was  compelled  to  wear  my  stage  boots  from  the  board 
ing  house  to  the  theatre,  and  from  the  theatre  to  the 
boarding  house.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river 
there  was  a  large  forest,  a  gloomy  place  enough,  huge 
oaks,  and  other  tall  trees,  with  a  sprinkling  of  under 
wood,  rendering  it  a  fitting  place  for  me  to  rehearse  my 
part  and  try  my  voice.  On  a  Sunday  morning  early  I 
would  cross  the  river  and  seek  out  the  loneliest  part  of 
the  wood  for  my  purpose.  My  stage  boots — for  I  had 
no  others — was  the  only  part  of  my  costume  that 
smacked  of  the  shop,  my  poverty,  not  my  will,  rendered 
this  a  necessity.  Here  I  would  spend  the  day,  reading, 
spouting  and  fighting  a  tree  as  if  it  were  Richmond 
and  I  the  Richard. 

"  I  said  to  Sol.  Smith  one  day  that  if  I  ever  became 
a  rich  man  I  would  purchase  that  dear  old  wood — this 
was  said  at  a  time  when  I  really  had  not  a  dollar  in 
the  world."  This  wood  adjoins  the  town  of  Covington, 
Ky.,  situated  on  the  Ohio  River,  opposite  Cincinnati, 


74  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

just  below  the  mouth  of  the  Licking  Kiver,  which  sep 
arates  it  from  the  city  of  Newport.  As  Mr.  Forrest 
purchased  this  woodland  in  after  years,  the  circum 
stances  which  led  to  his  becoming  its  owner,  and  which 
still  belongs  to  his  estate,  were  as  follows  :  When 
playing  a  star  engagement  in  Cincinnati  years  after 
wards,  Sol.  Smith  said  to  him  one  day,  "Forrest,  do 
you  remember  saying  that  if  ever  you  became  a  rich 
man  you  would  purchase  the  woods  in  Covington,  where 
you  went  in  your  poverty  to  avoid  society  and  rehearse 
your  part  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  remember." 

"  Well,  look  at  that/7  handing  Forrest  a  bill  an 
nouncing  the  sale  of  valuable  property  in  Covington ; 
the  "wood  scene"  in  his  youthful  memory  was  partic 
ularly  described. 

"  When  is  the  sale  to  take  place  ?  " 

"  Why  to-day  ;  look  at  the  bill." 

"  Yes,  there  it  is,  to  begin  at  ten  o'clock  precisely ; 
it  is  now  eight.  Come,  let  us  be  off ;  it  may  probably 
go  beyond  my  figure,  however." 

The  two  started,  the  sale  commenced,  and  it  was 
knocked  down  to  Edwin  Forrest,  the  eminent  trage 
dian. 


CHAPTEK   V. 

EAKLY  STRUGGLES.  —  TRAGEDY,  COMEDY,  OR  CIRCUS  ? 
PLAYS  A  NEGRO  DANDY. — ENGAGES  WITH  JAMES  H. 
CALDWELL,  N.  O.,  FOR  THE  COMING  SEASON. — SUF 
FERINGS  IN  THE  MEAN  TIME. — MAKES  A  PROVINCIAL 

TOUR. ITS     RESULTS. THE     RIDDLE     FAMILY. 

THROWS    UP    HIS     ENGAGEMENT    WITH    CALDWELL. 

JOINS  A  CIRCUS    COMPANY. — SOL.    SMITH    INDIGNANT. 

— A   PLEASING    EPISODE. GOES    TO    NEW   ORLEANS. 

— HIS  RESOLVE  AFTER  SEEING  CONWAY,  THE  GREAT 
TRAGEDIAN. — JANE  PLACIDE. — FORREST'S  RETURN 
TO  HIS  NATIVE  CITY. — TRIUMPHANT  SUCCESS  ! 

A  BOUT  this  period  James  H.  Caldwell  was  consid- 
~*"^-  ered  the  great  Napoleon  of  the  Southern  stage. 
He  had  erected  theatres  in  the  principal  cities,  more 
particularly  in  the  South,  and  New  Orleans  could  boast 
of  having  the  best  temple  for  the  "histrionic  muse," 
as  Caldwell  called  it,  and  the  best  company,  as  he  also 
said,  "  in  the  country." 

At  the  suggestion  of  a  friend  (Sol.  Smith)  Mr.  For 
rest  wrote  to  Caldwell,  as  also  did  Smith;  the  result 
was  that  at  the  commencement  of  the  ensuing  season 
he  was  regularly  enrolled  in  that  gentleman's  company 
at  the  enormous  salary  of  eighteen  dollars  per  week  ! 
In  the  mean  time  the  Cincinnati  company  struggled 
on,  laboring  in  its  vocation  under  difficulties.  Various 
attempts  were  made  to  keep  up  with  the  times,  which, 

(75) 


76  LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FORREST. 

at  that  period,  were  unusually  bad.  A  new  piece  writ 
ten  by  Mr.  Smith  was  brought  out  at  the  Globe,  and 
was  quite  a  success.  It  was  called  Modern  Fashions. 
Forrest  and  Long  Tom  Coffin  Scott  (so  called  in  after 
years)  played  a  pair  of  dandies.  This  gave  rise  to 
another  production,  entitled  The  Tailor  in  Distress. 
In  this  piece  Forrest  performed  the  part  of  a  negro. 
Forrest  had  a  decided  inclination  for  comedy ;  indeed, 
for  a  time  he  actually  hesitated  between  tragedy  and 
comedy,  as  he  did  seriously  on  one  occasion  between 
sawdust  and  the  stage.  Some  of  our  readers  may  ques 
tion  this,  but  as  we  knoiv  them  to  be  facts,  the  record 
must  be  received  as  a  truthful  version  of  his  early 
struggles  in  the  mimic  world. 

As  some  few  months  would  elapse  before  he  com 
menced  with  Caldwell,  the  company  with  which  he  was 
engaged  had  to  struggle  on  the  best  way  they  could  to 
meet  their  expenses.  This  was  a  hard  task,  inasmuch 
as  the  business  in  Cincinnati  was  extremely  dull,  and 
little  or  no  encouragement  was  given  to  the  players. 
The  Globe  was  therefore  given  up,  and  the  members  of 
the  company  scattered  in  every  direction.  Forrest  and 
Davis,  with  the  Kiddle  family,  made  an  excursion  into 
the  country  and  performed  at  Dayton.  They  then 
went  to  other  small  towns,  and  performed  with  but 
little  success.  Indeed,  they  suffered  many  privations. 

Finding  their  trip  to  be  one  entailing  a  loss, 
rather  than  a  profit,  they  determined  to  return  to  Cin 
cinnati.  Forrest  pawned  his  stage  wardrobe  for  the 
purpose  of  raising  money  to  send  the  ladies  of  the  com 
pany  to  Newport.  The  men  in  the  mean  time  started 
from  Lebanon,  on  foot,  for  the  same  place,  a  distance  of 
twenty  miles.  On  their  way  they  had  to  swim  a  small 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  77 

stream,  having  no  money  to  pay  the  ferryman.  Too 
independent  to  beg,  they  lived  on  roasted  corn,  "as 
hard,"  Forrest  said,  "  as  Pharaoh's  heart."  What  con 
nection  there  is  between  roasted  corn  and  the  heart  of 
Pharaoh  is  a  question  we  very  much  doubt  if  Mr.  For 
rest  himself  could  have  answered.  This  journey,  apart 
from  the  actual  want  of  food,  was  a  very  pleasant  one, 
and  Mr.  Forrest  frequently  referred  to  it  as  one  of  the 
most  interesting  excursions  he  ever  took ! 

When  they  arrived  at  Newport  they  played  Doug 
las,  and  Miss  in  Her  Teens,  to  a  house  of  seven 
dollars!  They  thought  it  nearly  time  then  to  turn 
their  attention  to  some  other  business.  Some  how  or 
other  they  contrived  to  get  through  the  summer,  and 
in  the  fall  they  joined  Collins  and  Jones,  at  Lexington, 
Ky.  In  the  mean  time  Sol.  Smith  was  getting  up  a 
company,  and  Forrest  made  application  for  a  situation, 
but  Smith  refused,  on  the  ground  that  Forrest  was 
already  under  a  previous  engagement  with  C  aid  well, 
and  he  considered  the  future  prospects  of  his  young 
friend  depended  much  if  not  altogether  upon  his  adhe 
ring  to  his  first  contract  with  the  great  Southern  man 
ager.  Forrest,  however,  insisted  upon  staying  with  Sol. 
Smith,  observing :  "  I  would  rather  remain  with  you 
for  ten  dollars  per  week  than  engage  with  a  stranger 
for  eighteen." 

Forrest  had  still  another  reason  for  not  wishing  to 
fulfil  his  engagement  with  Caldwell.  There  are  asso 
ciations  formed  in  youth  which,  ere  manhood  erases 
them  from  memory,  are  stronger  than  all  the  argu 
ments  of  the  more  advanced  or  experienced.  The  Kid 
dle  family  were  talented,  and  one  of  them  was  young 
and  beautiful.  There  is  a  certain  romance  connected 


78  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

with  the  profession  of  an  actor  which  throws  around  him 
a  charm  pleasing  to  the  eye  of  youth  and  beauty ;  and 
thus  when  as  one  family  they  had  travelled  and  suffered 
together,  it  did  indeed  seem  hard  to  separate ;  and  thus 
it  was  Forrest  determined  to  break  his  engagement  with 
Caldwell,  and  once  more  appealed  to  Sol.  Smith,  but  in 
vain.  Provoked  at  his  old  friend's  opposition,  he  went 
immediately  to  the  manager  of  a  circus  company,  and 
made  an  engagement  with  him  as  a  tumbler  and  a 
rider  for  the  term  of  twelve  months.  As  soon  as  Smith 
heard  this  most  extraordinary  move  on  the  part  of 
Forrest,  he  started  in  pursuit  of  him,  and  found  him 
in  the  ring  surrounded  by  riders,  acrobats,  vaulters, 
grooms,  and  "numerous  auxiliaries/'  Smith  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  him  throw  several  flip-flaps,  and 
then  running  towards  the  astonished  spectator,  he 
shouted  out :  "  What  do  you  think  of  that,  eh  ?  " 

Sol.  Smith  admitted  to  the  writer  of  this  that  if 
he  had  remained  with  the  circus  managers  he  would 
have  become  one  of  the  most  daring  riders  and  vaulters 
that  ever  appeared  in  the  ring.  After  much  difficulty, 
in  which  he  was  assisted  by  others,  Forrest  was  induced 
to  give  up  this  engagement  and  fulfil  the  one  made 
with  Caldwell.  This,  as  the  reader  will  readily  perceive, 
was  the  most  momentous  period  of  the  young  actor's 
life.  It  must  also  be  remembered,  as  an  excuse  for  his 
conduct,  that  he  was  then  only  eighteen  years  of  age. 

Even  after  his  engagement  with  Caldwell,  this  de 
sire  for  the  "  ring "  did  not  die  out.  It  still  had  its 
attractions,  and  the  youthful  athlete  often  imagined 
that  he  was  better  adapted  to  the  performances  of  a 
circus  than  he  was  to  the  more  intellectual  acquirements 
of  the  stage.  The  moment,  however,  he  gave  up  the 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOREEST.  79 

idea  of  the  former,  he  turned  his  whole  attention  to  the 
latter,  and  the  youth  who  turned  flip-flaps  in  the  ring 
of  a  circus  became  in  time  the  finished  Shakesperian 
scholar  of  the  age,  and  the  only  man  we  ever  heard 
read  Hamlet  up  to  the  standard  as  prescribed  by  the 
author.  There  may  be  a  difference  of  opinion  in  regard 
to  this  assertion  of  ours,  but  the  best  critics  in  this 
and  other  countries  have  invariably  viewed  the  charac 
ter  of  Hamlet  as  one  laboring  under  a  mental  disease, 
and  as  such  Shakespeare  has  drawn  him;  and  if  the 
actor  dates  the  insanity  of  the  prince  from  his  inter 
view  with  the  Ghost,  and  where  he  puts  "an  antic  dis 
position  on,"  he  gives  but  an  imperfect  impersonation, 
and  makes  him  "  a  thing  of  shreds  and  patches."  We 
shall  allude  to  this  subject  hereafter. 

We  have  said  that  the  feats  in  the  ring  of  a  circus 
in  Cincinnati  did  not  put  an  end  to  Forrest's  desire  of 
becoming  a  vaulter  and  a  rider.  On  one  occasion,  for 
a  wager,  however,  in  another  city,  he  appeared  in  the 
ring  in  a  "  still  vaulting  "  act,  being  for  the  benefit  of 
"  Bill  Gates,"  a  well-known  attach^  of  the  circus.  For 
rest  had  the  privilege  in  this  wager  to  disguise  him 
self,  so  as  not  to  be  recognized,  if  possible,  by  his 
theatrical  friends.  His  dress  consisted  of  an  enormous 
pair  of  Turkish  trowsers,  breast-plate  and  fly ;  his  feet 
were  adorned  with  a  pair  of  sheepskin  pumps,  the  kind 
worn  by  a  numerous  train  of  auxiliaries.  But  few 
knew  him,  however.  On  another  occasion  he  tendered 
his  services  for  the  benefit  of  "Charley  Young,"  on 
which  eventful  night,  the  last  of  his  acrobatic  feats,  he 
made  a  flying  leap  through  a  barrel  of  red  fire,  singe 
ing  his  hair  and  eyebrows  terribly.  To  the  last  mo 
ment  of  Mr.  Forrest's  life,  however,  he  still  exercised 


80  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

with  dumb-bells,  dead  weights,  Indian  clubs,  etc.,  and 
other  feats  of  physical  exercise,  too  much,  we  frequent 
ly  thought  for  his  advanced  years.  Others  thought  so, 
too,  but  the  spirit  of  the  boy  of  eighteen  only  died  out 
with  the  man  of  sixty-six. 

The  South  at  that  period  was  the  El  Dorado  to 
actors.  Caldwell's  reputation  as  a  manager — his  high- 
toned  idea  of  the  drama,  his  desire  to  give  it  that  at 
tention  which  would  command  the  respect  and  admira 
tion  of  playgoers — was  well  known.  It  was  under 
such  a  manager  and  in  such  a  theatre  Mr.  Forrest  first 
began  to  appreciate  the  value  of  true  art.  Pelby,  Con- 
way,  Cooper,  Booth  and  others,  had  shed  the  light  of 
their  genius  on  the  mimic  stage,  and  he  determined  to 
catch  some  of  its  rays  to  illuminate  his  own  pathway. 
With  this  resolve  he  entered  the  Crescent  City,  and 
with  a  like  determination  he  stepped  on  the  stage  of 
the  best  regulated  theatre  in  the  country. 

To  the  credit  of  Mr.  Forrest  be  it  said  here,  that 
the  first  use  he  made  of  his  earnings  was  to  provide  for 
his  mother  and  sisters.  At  first  his  remittances  were 
small.  The  following  incident  connected  with  this  no 
ble  trait  in  his  character,  we  introduce  here  as  an  epi 
sode.  Keturning  to  New  York,  after  a  successful  en 
gagement  in  the  South  and  West,  he  met  a  friend  in 
the  lobby  of  the  Bowery  Theatre,  upon  whom  he  sud 
denly  opened  with  the  following  startling  declaration, 
uttered  in  a  triumphal  tone:  "  Thank  Heaven,  I  am 
not  worth  a  ducat."  His  friend  eagerly  inquired  the 
meaning  of  an  assertion  so  singular  and  so  ambiguous  ; 
for  he  knew  Mr.  Forrest  had  netted  a  large  amount  of 
money  by  his  preceding  engagements.  Said  Mr.  For 
rest :  "My  mother  and  sisters  were  poor,  and  I  Lave 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  gl 

just  purchased  for  them  a  house  in  Philadelphia ;  and 
all  the  balance  of  my  funds,  I  have  invested  there,  for 
their  support.  Thank  Heaven,  I  am  not  worth  a 
ducat."  And  well  might  the  noble,  aspiring,  and 
triumphant  adventurer,  whose  honorable  ambition  had 
been  always  rewarded  as  it  merited, — "thank  heaven" 
that  he  had  already  been  enabled  to  obtain  the  means 
of  benefaction ;  and  that  he  possessed  the  exalted 
magnanimity  to  apply  them  in  a  way  so  pleasing  and 
grateful  to  the  noblest  instincts  of  humanity.  In 
speaking  of  this  incident  he  said  to  us :  "  After  the 
Completion  of  the  purchase,  and  placing  the  deed  in 
my  mother's  hand,  I  had  actually  but  one  dollar  left/" 
On  that  small  capital,  with  a  large  amount  of  genius, 
he  started  afresh,  and  once  more  achieved  a  fortune 
and  added  fresh  laurels  to  his  brow. 

Forrest  made  his  first  appearance  in  New  Orleans 
on  Wednesday  evening,  February  4th,  1823,  as  Jaffier, 
being  then  only  seventeen  years  of  age.  On  the  first 
of  January,  1824,  Caldwell  opened  his  new  theatre  on 
Camp  Street,  with  Town  and  Country,  Forrest  play 
ing  Captain  Grlenroy.  During  the  season  Forrest  sus 
tained  stars,  playing  Iciliusr  to  Mr.  Pelby's  Brutus. 
When  we  take  into  consideration  the  fact  of  his  being 
but  a  boy,  as  regards  age,  this  extraordinary  precocious 
talent  far  surpasses  anything  of  a  similar  kind  on  rec 
ord.  If  it  were  not  that  we  have  the  most  positive 
evidence  of  his  being  born  on  the  9th  of  March,  1806, 
we  should  be  induced  to  rely  on  William  B.  Wood's 
account  of  his  first  interview  with  Master  Forrest,  and 
what  he  said  at  the  time : 

" Forrest,"  says  he,  "was  at  this  time  a  well  grown 
young  man,  with  a  noble  figure,  unusually  developed 
5 


82  LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

for  his  age,  being  sixteen,  his  features  powerfully  ex 
pressive,  etc."  It  does  seem  reasonable  to  those  who 
consider  that  when  he  enacted  Norval  at  the  Walnut 
Street  Theatre,  in  1820,  he  was  but  fourteen  years  of 
age,  that  Mr.  Wood's  theory  might  be  sustained  of  his 
being  sixteen  ;  this  would  make  his  age  when  he  joined 
Caldwell  in  New  Orleans,  in  1824,  exactly  twenty,  an 
age  that  would  in  some  measure  justify  a  manager  in 
giving  him  important  parts  to  play.  A  lad  of  seven 
teen  enacting  lago  to  the  Othello  of  a  star,  and  Eich- 
mond  to  his  Richard,  does  indeed  seem  remarkable,  and 
yet  it  is  so.  At  the  time  we  knew  Mr.  Forrest  as  the 
boy  actor,  we  considered  ourselves  a  man — our  being 
Mr.  Forrest's  senior  by  four  years  made  the  fact  very 
plain  to  us  ! 

We  have  something  still  more  remarkable  to  record 
in  connection  with  Mr.  Forrest's  New  Orleans  engage 
ment,  and  that  is,  he  enacted  King  Lear  for  his  benefit, 
being  then  in  the  nineteenth  year  of  his  age.  Perhaps 
history  does  not  furnish  another  instance  like  it.  Lear, 
a  character  requiring  all  the  elements  that  make 
up  the  actor,  both  mentally  and  physically,  is  one 
that  few  undertake,  more  particularly  as  no  one  had 
attempted  the  part  since  George  Frederick  Cooke's 
transcendent  genius  invested  it  with  so  much  Shakes- 
perian  beauty  and  power.  Forrest's  attempt  was  sim 
ply  praiseworthy,  but  from  that  moment,  as  he  said, 
"I  determined  to  make  Lear  my  great  character — 
that  is,  if  I  ever  reach  a  point  to  command  success." 

For  the  first  time  in  his  life,  Mr.  Forrest  had  here  an 
opportunity  of  witnessing  William  A.  Conway,  whom 
Caldwell  had  engaged  for  a  short  engagement.  This 
was  Mr.  Con  way's  first  appearance  in  New  Orleans. 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  83 

His  reputation  had  been  the  "  evant  courier  "  to  create 
quite  an  excitement,  and  Mr.  C  aid  well  was  compelled 
to  sell  the  tickets  at  auction  to  the  highest  bidder.  He 
opened  in  Othello  on  Wednesday,  March  2nd,  1825. 
Mr.  Conway' s  impersonation  of  the  Moor  astounded  the 
young  student  ;  he  saw  him  there  on  the  stage,  not  as 
he  had  seen  him,  not  as  he  imagined  him  to  be  from 
mere  reading,  but  as  an  untamed  animal — grand,  majes 
tic,  fearful,  with  Afric's  blood  flowing  in  his  veins. 
For  the  first  time  Mr.  Forrest  saw  Othello's  picture 
truthfully  and  fearfully  drawn.  A  character  drawn 
with  passions  so  strong — ill-regulated  education,  and 
one  whose  peculiar  notions,  mental  and  physical  organ 
ization,  so  learnedly  portrayed  by  the  actor,  that  For 
rest  gazed  in  astonishment  and  felt  as  if  the  part  of 
Othello  was  far  beyond  his  reach.  And  yet  it  had  been 
one  of  his  chief  studies,  but  the  picture,  as  drawn  by 
Conway,  seemed  to  him  like  Martin's  great  painting 
(copies  of  which  were  then  out)  of  "  Satan  in  Council" 
— the  chief  figure  towering  in  fiendish  grandeur  above 
all  the  rest.  Shakespeare  has  drawn  a  character  in 
the  person  of  Othello  that  has  no  parallel  in  the  whole 
range  of  the  drama.  The  acting  of  Conway  aroused 
Forrest  from  the  dreams  of  the  boy  to  the  realities  of 
life — in  man.  Othello  was  ever  before  his  eyes  in  the 
person  of  Conway,  and  he  muttered  to  himself,  u  Til 
master  it  yet  !  " 

Let  us  introduce  an  episode  here,  as  it  had  a  bear 
ing  on  the  future  prospects  of  Forrest : 

JANE    PLACIDE. 

This  lady  was  a  member  of  Caldwell's  company  at 
that  time,  and  was  the  innocent  cause  of  a  serious  quar- 


84  LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FORREST. 

rel  between  Forrest  and  Caldwell;  a  slight  sketch  of 
her  life  may  not  be  out  of  place.  Forrest,  impulsive, 
brave,  and  sensitive  to  an  insult  of  any  kind,  in  the 
excitement  of  the  moment  challenged  his  manager,  who 
wisely,  perhaps,  refused  it.  They  then  separated ; 
Forrest  left  for  the  North,  and  it  is  probable  this,  an 
unpleasant  incident,  was  &  momentous  period  in  his 
life,  as  it  brought  him  immediately  in  connection  with 
the  celebrated  Edmund  Kean,  who  was  playing  an 
engagement  in  New  York  about  that  period. 

Jane  Placide  was  born  in  Charleston,  S.  C.,  1804. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Alexander  Placide,  well  known 
in  the  South  as  a  manager.  He  died  in  1812.  At  an 
early  age  she  was  introduced  on  the  stage  as  a  danseuse. 
She  made  her  first  appearance  on  the  stage  as  an  ac 
tress,  in  Norfolk,  Va.,  in  1820,  as  Violante,  in  the 
Honeymoon.  Made  her  first  appearance  in  New  Or 
leans,  January  4th,  1823,  exactly  one  month  before  Mr. 
Forrest's  appearance  in  that  city.  When  we  first  saw 
Miss  Placide  she  was  still  a  member  of  Mr.  CaldwelFs 
company — this  was  in  1833-34.  She  was  not  only  a 
very  handsome  woman,  but  one  of  the  most  finished 
actresses  in  the  South.  In  comedy  or  tragedy  she  was 
alike  good,  and  was  the  pride  of  the  "  mimic  world  "  in 
that  city,  as  she  was  acknowledged  an  artiste  in  the 
cities  of  the  North.  In  1827  she  played  a  star  engage 
ment  at  the  Chatham  Street  Theatre,  New  York.  She 
soon  attained  the  position  she  aimed  at,  and  was  ac 
knowledged,  as  we  have  stated,  in  the  South,  as  the 
best  native  tragedienne  ever  seen  there.  She  died  in 
New  Orleans  in  the  height  of  her  popularity,  on  May 
16th,  1835.  In  the  American  burying  ground,  New 
Orleans,  there  is  a  marble  slab,  on  which  we  read  the 
following : 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FOIiREST. 


TO     THE    MEMORY     OF    JANE    PLACIDE. 

" There's  not  an  hour 

Of  day,  or  dreamy  night  but  I  am  with  thee ; 
There's  not  a  wind  but  whispers  o'er  thy  name, 
And  not  a  flower  that  sleeps  beneath  the  moon 
But  in  its  hues  of  fragrance  tells  a  tale 
Of  thee." 


"  I'll  master  it  yet,"  were  the  words  uttered  by 
Forrest  as  lie  went  over  the  wonderful  points  of  Shake 
speare's  great  tragedy  of  Othello  ;  with  this  resolve 
and  the  highest  aspirations  that  ever  agitated  the 
mind  of  youth,  he  wended  his  way  to  Albany,  N.  Y. 
He  had  better  inducements  to  go  hither,  than  those 
of  larger  cities  could  hold  out.  Charles  Gilfert  was 
the  manager  of  the  Broadway  and  Albany  theatres,  and 
it  was  with  him  Forrest  engaged  to  perform  in  these 
cities.  Mr.  Gilfert,  in  making  his  arrangements  with 
Forrest  for  a  limited  period,  was  very  careful  to  have 
his  salary  fixed  at  a  low  figure — salaries  at  that  period 
were  not  quite  as  high  as  they  are  now.  By  this  time 
Forrest  had  achieved  a  certain  degree  of  fame,  and 
when  the  manager  suggested  the  renewal  of  his  engage 
ment,  he  said,  "I  presume  the  salary  will  be  the  same." 
Forrest  looked  him  full  in  the  face,  saying,  "  My  terms 
sir,  are  one  hundred  dollars  per  week/' 

The  manager  laughed — the  actor  frowned — and  yet 
on  the  12th  of  January,  1827,  he  received  from  the 
manager  of  the  Walnut  Street  Theatre  two  hundred 
dollars  per  night !  A  rapid  rise  in  his  theatrical  career. 
Before  he  could  command  such  a  price,  however,  he  had 
to  pass  through  two  or  three  years  of  much  practice 
and  study.  Edmund  Kean,  one  of  the  most  extraordi 
nary  men  of  the  day,  said  of  Mr.  Forrest,  "That  he 


86  LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

was  destined  to  a  high  station  in  the  theatrical  profes 
sion."  He  played  lago  to  Kean's  Othello,  and  Rich- 
mond  to  his  Richard  III. 

Five  years  had  elapsed  since  he  left  the  place  of  his 
birth — the  home  of  his  boyhood — the  scene  of  his  early 
dramatic  attempts.  He  came  back  full  of  hope  and 
confidence,  and  with  no  intention,  as  it  was  near  the 
close  of  the  season,  to  play.  It  so  happened,  however, 
that  Charles  S.  Porter's  benefit  was  about  to  take  place 
— that  he  consented  to  play  for  him.  The  last  time 
these  two  acted  together,  it  will  be  recollected,  was  on 
the  boards  of  the  old  South  Street  Theatre — the  one 
enacted  a  female  part,  the  other  his  lover.  They  now 
appeared  on  the  boards  of  "  Old  Drury,"  two  finished 
actors,  in  the  tragedy  of  Venice  Preserved.  Mr.  For 
rest  enacted  the  part  of  Jafner,  Mr.  Porter,  Pierre. 
This  was  on  the  16th  of  May,  1826.  The  result  was  a 
decided  success.  As  we  observed,  it  was  near  the  close 
of  the  season.  Mr.  Forrest  was  announced  to  play  for 
that  night  only.  So  much  excitement,  however,  did 
this  single  performance  create,  that  the  managers  were 
induced  to  give  him  two  nights  more.  Pizarro  was 
selected,  and  he  was  announced  for  Roll  a,  which  char 
acter  he  had  to  repeat,  and  with  so  much  surprise  to 
his  friends,  and  the  approval  of  the  public,  that  his 
engagement  might  have  been  still  longer  extended.  It 
had  this  effect,  for  when  he  did  appear  subsequently,  it 
was  here  and  elsewhere  as  the  star  of  the  dramatic 
firmament.  Mr.  Forrest  was  announced  "from  the 
theatre  at  Albany."  His  visit  to  Philadelphia  was 
during  the  interval  between  the  closing  of  the  Albany 
theatre  and  the  opening  of  the  Bowery,  with  the  mana 
ger  of  whom  he  was  engaged. 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FOKKEST.  87 

In  the  same  year  Mr.  Forrest  again  returned  to 
New  York,  and  kindly  offered  his  services  to  an  ex 
cellent  stock  actor  by  the  name  of  Woodhull,  to  play 
for  his  benefit.  This  was  at  the  Park  Theatre,  on  the 
23rd  of  May,  1826.  The- play  selected  was  Othello. 
It  was  from  this  hour  we  may  trace  the  bright  career  of 
Mr.  Forrest.  It  is  a  remarkable  circumstance  connected 
with  these  two  benefits,  that  while  it  showed  the  feel 
ing  Mr.  Forrest  entertained  for  his  old  friends,  though 
still  young  in  years,  it  also  was  the  means  of  bringing 
himself  more  considerably  before  the  public  of  the  two 
largest  cities  of  the  country.  Several  persons  claimed 
the  credit  of  having  brought  Mr.  Forrest  out, — among 
them  were  Gilfert,  Hamblin,  Sol.  Smith  and  others. 
There  was  no  bringing  out  about  it.  Forrest  brought 
himself  out.  Neither  John  Swift  or  William  B.  Wood 
ever  made  any  such  claim  on  the  credulity  of  the  public ; 
they  gave  him  a  start,  and  he  became  the  sole  architect 
of  his  own  fortune.  He  had  no  patron  but  his  own 
genius,  and  well  he  knew  on  that  he  could  depend. 
You  cannot  darken  and  degrade  genius. 

-It  may  rust 


Dimly  awhile,  but  cannot  wholly  die ; 
And  when  it  wakens,  it  will  send  its  fire 
Intenser  forth,  and  higher." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

GREAT  THEATRICAL  SEASON,  1825. — KEAN,  FORREST, 
MACREADY,  LYDIA  KELLY  AND  THOMAS  A.  COOPER, 
THE  STARS. — KEAN'S  RECEPTION. — FORREST  AS  DA 
MON. HIS  ENGAGEMENT  AT  THE  PARK  THEATRE, 

N.  Y. — STONE'S  TRAGEDY  OF  METAMORA. — LUCIUS 
JUNIUS  BOOTH.  —  WILLIAM  FORREST. — SKETCH  OF 
HIS  LIFE. — AN  EPISODE. — JOHN  W.  FORNEY. — RE 
NEWAL  OF  EARLY  FRIENDSHIP. 

r  I  ^HE  theatrical  season  in  Philadelphia  commenced 
-*-  on  the  21st  of  November,  1825.  It  was  rendered 
memorable  by  the  second  visit  of  Edmund  Kean.  Miss 
Lydia  Kelly,  Edwin  Forrest,  William  Macready  and 
Thomas  A.  Cooper  were  announced  as  regular  stars. 

Mr.  Kean  arrived  in  New  York  in  1825,  and  made 
his  first  appearance  at  the  Chestnut  Street  Theatre  on 
the  evening  of  January  18th,  1826,  as  Richard  III. 
The  writer  of  this  was  present,  and  perhaps,  if  we  ex 
cept  the  Anderson  riot,  a  more  disgraceful  scene  never 
occurred  within  the  walls  of  a  theatre.  A  bitter  feel 
ing  was  roused  against  the  actor,  in  consequence  of  his 
making  some  very  indiscreet  remarks  about  the  "  Yan 
kees,"  during  his  first  visit  here,  which  the  people  had 
not  forgotten.  Rotten  eggs,  marbles,  buttons,  and  other 
missiles  were  hurled  upon  the  stage.  The  appear 
ance  of  Kean  was  the  signal  of  assault.  The  play  pro 
ceeded  in  dumb  show.  It  was  "  Richard  "  pantomimed ! 

(88) 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FORREST.  89 

For  awhile  the  opposition  was  kept  up,  until  at  last 
he  was  permitted  to  address  the  audience.  The  play 
then  proceeded,  but  with  occasional  hisses.  He  closed 
this  engagement  on  the  2nd  of  February,  1826,  having 
played,  without  interruption,  Kichard  III.,  Othello, 
King  Lear,  Sir  Giles  Overreach,  Brutus  and  Hamlet. 
Our  judgment  or  taste  may  be  at  fault  when  we  state 
that  of  all  the  characters  in  which  we  saw  Mr.  Kean, 
his  Sir  Giles  Overreach  is  the  only  one  that  lives  in 
our  remembrance.  His  Shakesperian  characters,  al 
though  they  possessed  great  merit  and  power,  seemed 
to  us  overstrained,  in  the  rendering  of  which  the  spirit 
of  the  author  was  lost  in  the  attempt  of  the  actor  to 
produce  effects.  This  was  not  the  case  with  his  Sir 
Giles  Overreach.  As  a  finished  portraiture  of  a  grasp 
ing  villain  to  obtain  money  and  minister  to  his  ambi 
tion,  Mr.  Kean's  copy  will  ever  remain  a  lasting  tribute 
to  his  genius  and  talent. 

Mr/Kean's  next  engagement  was  on  the  12th  of 
June,  1826.  Edwin  Forrest  succeeded  him,  commencing 
on  the  5th  of  July  with  Othello,  and  although  late  in 
the  season,  drew  good  houses.  This  was  Forrest's  first 
star  engagement.  His  second  engagement  was  at  the 
Walnut  Street  Theatre.  Previous  to  which,  however, 
he  went  to  Washington  City,  where  he  played  Damon 
for  the  first  time.  In  a  letter  to  a  friend,  dated 
"  Washington  City,  October  14th,  1826,"  he  says  ;  "  I 
play  Damon  for  the  first  time  to-morrow  night.  *  * 
I  shall  shortly  play  with  Kean ;  think  of  that." 

He  opened  at  the  Walnut  Street  Theatre,  March 
7th,  1827,  with  Damon.  During  his  engagement  he 
played  Othello,  Eolla,  William  Tell,  Sir  Edward  Mor 
timer,  King  Lear  and  Jaffier.  On  the  last  night  of 


90  LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FORREST. 

his  engagement,  March  24th,  1827,  his  brother  William 
enacted  Pythias  to  his  Damon.  We  annex  the  an 
nouncement  bill : 

WALNUT  STREET  THEATRE. 

Positively  the  last  night  of 

ME.  E.  FORREST'S  ENGAGEMENT. 

THIS  EVENING,  March  24th,  1827, 
Will  be  presented  the  favorite  Tragedy  of 

DAMON  AND  PYTHIAS ; 

OR, 
THE    TEST    OF    FRIENDSHIP. 

DAMON,  a  Senator ME.  E.  FORREST. 

PYTHIAS,  a  Soldier,  his  friend MR.  W.  FORREST. 

After  which,  a  comic  Farce  called 

IS  HE  JEALOUS  ? 

OR, 

A  PEEP  INTO  THE  BOUDOIR. 

The  public  is  respectfully  acquainted  that  Mr.  MACREADY  will 
perform  for  a  limited  number  of  nights  in  this  city,  previous  to  his 
return  to  Europe,  being  positively  the  last  engagement  he ''can  have 
the  honor  of  making  here. 

On  Monday,  OTHELLO  — Othello  (for  the  first  and  only  time 
here),  Mr.  Macready. 

It  will  be  observed  that  Mr.  Forrest,  although  but 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  was  sandwiched  between  two 
of  the  most  popular  actors  of  the  day — Edmund  Kean 
and  William  Macready.  How  did  he  come  forth  from 
this  contest  ?  His  after  history  is  the  answer. 

Mr.  Forrest's  first  engagement  at  the  Park  Theatre, 
New  York,  was  on  the  17th  of  October,  1829,  when  he 
opened  as  Damon,  and  successfully  appeared  as  Ham 
let,  Lear,  lago  (to  Cooper's  Othello),  Macbeth,  Brutus 
and  Carwin.  On  the  24th  of  the  same  month  he  be 
gan  a  new  engagement  as  William  Tell,  and  on  the 
15th  of  November,  1829,  took  his  benefit,  when  for  the 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FORREST.  91 

first  time  on  any  stage,  was  represented  Jolm  A.  Stone's 
tragedy  of  Metamora;  or,  The  Last  of  the  Wampa- 
noags.  It  was  introduced  by  a  neatly  written  prologue, 
the  production  of  Prosper  M.  Whetmore,  spoken  by 
Mr.  Barrett,  and  at  its  close  a  sprightly  epilogue,  writ 
ten  by  James  Lawson,  and  recited  by  Mrs.  Hilson. 

EDWIN    FORREST    AND    LUCIUS   JUNIUS    BOOTH. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  most  brilliant  engagements  of 
Mr.  Forrest  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  was  the  one 
commencing  at  the  Chestnut  Street  Theatre,  Wednes 
day,  December  8th,  1830.  He  opened  with  Damon, 
Mrs.  Sharpe  as  Calanthe.  On  Thursday  evening,  De 
cember  9th,  Mr.  Booth  and  Mrs.  Flynn  appeared  in  the 
Merchant  of  Venice.  On  the  10th,  Mr.  Forrest  pro 
duced  Metamora  —  first  time  at  that  theatre — with 
Mrs.  Sharpe  as  Nahmeokee,  to  a  house  crowded 
from  pit  to  dome.  Mr.  Booth,  as  Sir  Edward  Morti 
mer,  on  the  llth.  On  Monday,  13th,  M£.  Forrest  ap 
peared  as  William  Tell.  Our  readers  will  perceive  that 
these  two  eminent  stars  appeared  on  alternate  nights. 
December  14th,  Mr.  Booth  produced  David  Paul 
Brown's  Sertorius;  or,  The  Roman  Patriots.  This 
splendid  combination  of  dramatic  talent  continued, 
each  in  their  separate  roles,  until  December  20th, 
1830,  when  the  two  brilliant  stars  came  together  in 
the  great  tragedy  of  Othello.  Othello,  Edwin  For 
rest;  lago,  Mr.  Booth.  This  was  on  the  occasion  of 
Mr.  Forrest's  benefit.  Perhaps,  with  the  exception  of 
Thomas  A.  Cooper,  with  whom  Mr.  Forrest  frequently 
played,  no  two  more  finished  artists  ever  came  together 
than  those  just  named.  It  was  not  simply  a  display 
of  elocutionary  powers  and  the  finished  touch  of  true 


92  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FOEEEST. 

art,  but  close  identification  of  the  actor  with  the  part. 
If  Mr.  Forrest's  Othello  was  great,  Mr.  Booth's  lago 
was  equally  so. 

At  that  period  Mr.  Booth's  name  was  a  tower  of 
strength,  and  his  lago  was  considered  the  best  on  the 
American  Stage,  and  only  equalled  by  that  of  William 
B.  Wood,  who  in  this  part  divided  the  honor  with  that 
excellent  tragedian. 

MR.    WILLIAM    FORREST. 

This  gentleman  was  born  in  the  city  of  Philadel 
phia.  His  first  appearance  on  the  stage  was  at  the 
Walnut  Street  Theatre,  February  2nd,  1822,  as  Zaph- 
ina,  in  the  play  of  Mahomet.  He  was  announced  as 
Master  William  Forrest.  He  followed  his  brother  to 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where  he  was  announced  as  making 
his  first  appearance  on  any  stage.  He  had  none  of 
those  strong  evidences  of  genius  which  so  distinguished 
his  brother,  his  voice  was  a  material  drawback  to  stage 
success.  He  was  an  amiable  and  accomplished  gentle 
man — he  was,  however,  a  man  of  business,  and  in  1831 
we.  find  him  one  of  the  firm  of  Jones,  Forrest  & 
Duffy,  managers  of  the  Arch  Street  Theatre,  and  also 
of  the  firm  of  Duffy  &  Forrest,  Albany,  N.  Y. 

At  the  close  of  the  Arch  Street  Theatre  season  of 
1831,  the  firm  was  presented  by  the  actors  and  others, 
with  a  silver  cup,  valued  at  one  hundred  dollars,  for 
the  honorable  manner  in  which  they  had  discharged  all 
their  obligations  since  they  undertook  the  management 
of  the  Arch  Street  Theatre.  The  cup  was  presented 
by  Morton  McMichael,  Esq.,  in  one  of  his  happiest 
speeches,  and  received  by  Mr.  Jones,  the  senior  part 
ner,  with  a  suitable  reply,  nearly  one  hundred  gentle- 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  93 

men  being  assembled  on  the  stage,  where  an  elegant  col 
lation  was  prepared,  and  the  song  and  anecdote  en 
livened  the  company,  who  dispersed  about  two  o'clock, 
A.  M.,  highly  pleased  with  the  events  of  the  evening. 
Mr.  William  Forrest  died  very  suddenly  in  1833, 
universally  regretted,  his  good  qualities  having  endeared 
him  to  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  It  is  some 
what  singular  that  the  manner  of  the  death  of  these  two 
brothers  should  be  so  similar.  Well  one  moment — the 
next  dead  !  In  the  full  seeming  of  good  health  at  night 
— the  next  morning  lying  calm  and  cold  in  death ! 
Thus  the  fate  of  both.  When  we  saw  Edwin  Forrest 
lying  on  his  bed  the  morning  of  his  death,  called  thither 
by  the  servant  in  haste,  we  imagined  him  in  a  trance  or 
a  stupor.  His  flesh  was  warm  ;  no  contortion  of  features, 
no  indication  of  having  suffered  pain ;  so  calm  in  slum 
ber-like,  that  we  immediately  commenced  bathing  his 
head  with  cologne  water,  raising  it  up,  and  placing  the 
whole  body  in  a  more  reclining  manner,  when  of  a  sud 
den  it  flashed  upon  us — this  is  death !  In  less  than 
fifteen  minutes  we  had  a  doctor  at  the  bedside.  All 
was  over.  The  genial,  social  gentleman,  the  great 
tragedian,  had  passed  away,  as  had  his  brother  thirty- 
nine  years  before.  On  that  calm  face  the  spoiler  had 
forever  set  his  seal  of  silence. 

"  But  there  beam'd  a  smile 
So  fixed  and  holy  from  that  marble  brow — 
Death  gazed  and  loft  it  there ;  he  dared  not  steal 
The  signet  ring  of  heaven."  « 

At  the  time  of  William  Forrest's  death,  his  brother 
was  playing  an  engagement  in  New  Orleans,  and  the 
writer  of  this  was  also  in  the  Crescent  City  at  the  same 
time.  It  may  probably  occur  to  the  reader  that  our 


94  LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FORREST. 

early  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Edwin  Forrest  was  still 
kept  up,  in  another  place  we  have  alluded  to  this ;  let 
us  introduce  here  an  EPISODE,  which  will  explain  in 
some  measure  the  reason  of  our  not  coming  together 
during  all  the  long  years  intervening  between  boyhood 
and  manhood. 

Our  youthful  associations  were  broken  off  when 
Mr.  Forrest  went  West  in  1822.  It  was  not  renewed 
until  John  W.  Forney,  Esq.,  brought  us  together  some 
thirty-five  years  afterward.  Mr.  Forrest  had  not  the 
least  idea  that  "  Colley  Gibber"  and  his  companion  in 
the  days  of  the  "  Old  Apollo/'  were  the  same,  under 
that  nom  de  plume.  Many  of  our  readers  are  aware 
that  we  omitted  no  opportunity  of  expressing  an  opin 
ion  of  Mr.  Forrest's  acting  ;  and  while  giving  him  all 
due  credit  for  the  opening  buds  of  promise  displayed, 
we  never  neglected  pointing  out  the  thorns  which 
came  forth  with  them.  Then  he  knew  us  not.  As 
this  interview,  brought  about  by  Col.  Forney,  forms  a 
very  important  epoch  in  our  life,  and  brought  together 
two  persons  of  entirely  different  pursuits,  we  give  the 
circumstances  attending  it. 

Mr.  Forrest,  looking  us  full  in  the  face,  said :  "  Not 
long  since,  sir,  I  saw  you  in  New  Orleans,  sitting  with 
James  H.  Caldwell,  in  his  private  box.  Your  face  then 
was  familiar  to  me.  On  another  occasion  I  saw  you 
with  Mr.  J.  Bates,  in  Cincinnati.  I  asked  him  who 
you  were.  He^  replied :  '  Oh,  a  great  friend  of  yours, 
a  Philadelphian/  I  also  asked  Harris  Gr.  Pearson  the 
same  question,  in  New  Orleans,  if  he  knew  you.  His 
reply  was  :  i  Yes,  from  a  boy ; '  and  now,  for  the  first 
time,  I  am  told  by  my  friend  Forney,  that  James  Kees 
and  Colley  Cibber  are  one  and  the  same  person."  We 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  95 

may  as  well  state  here,  also,  that  Col.  Forney  was 
equally  surprised  when  he  found  it  necessary  to  intro 
duce  us. 

To  many  it  may  appear  somewhat  singular  why  we 
did  not  take  an  opportunity  of  making  ourselves  known 
to  Mr.  Forrest  during  the  many  years  that  had  inter 
vened.  As  an  actor  we  admired  him,  and  felt  more 
real  pleasure  in  speaking  of  him  than  we  imagined  we 
should  enjoy  in  speaking  to  him.  We  had  heard  of  his 
being  abrupt  and  brusque  in  his  manner  with  strangers, 
and  this  would  not  suit  our  temperament,  so  we  told 
him,  giving  it  as  our  reason  for  avoiding  him.  Turn 
ing  to  Col.  Forney,  he  said :  "  That  is  honest,  and  I 
like  it."  He  caught  me  by  the  hand,  saying  :  "  Come 
and  see  me,  for  if  I  am  a  wild  lion  abroad,  I  am  at 
least  a  tame  one  at  home." 

We  did  call,  and  often  since  regretted  that  such  an 
opinion  of  Mr.  Forrest  should  have  been  the  means  of 
keeping  us  so  long  in  ignorance  of  the  many  noble  and 
excellent  traits  in  his  character.  The  memory  of  Mr. 
Forrest  is  as  dear  to  us  now  as  was  his  friendship  while 
living ;  and  the  only  regret  we  have  is  that  his  epitaph 
should  not  have  been  the  public's  approbation  on  his 
last  act  instead  of  its  censure.  We  speak  the  general 
sentiment  when  we  say  the  curtain  fell  too  soon  on  the 
last  act  of  the  drama  of  life  in  which  Mr.  Forrest 
played  so  prominent  a  part.  There  should  have  been 
an  episode,  but  Heaven  decreed  it  otherwise,  and  those 
who  should  have  been  remembered  in  the  final  close  of 
a  great  man's  life,  passed  away  with  the  fall  of  the 
curtain  from  all  connection,  save  that  of  remembrance, 
with  the  fortunes  or  recorded  words  of  friendship  of 
Edwin  Forrest.  John  Swift,  Esq.,  the  earliest  and 


96  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

stauncliest  friend  he  ever  had ;  Col.  John  W.  Forney, 
who  stood  by  him  in  the  darkest  hour  of  his  life — his 
Pythias  and  his  advocate.  Well,  the  curtain  fell,  as 
we  have  said,  too  soon.  The  bell  had  sounded,  the 
drama  was  over,  and — 

"  The  actor's  fame 
Knells  in  the  ear  of  the  world." 

And  the  feet  of  strangers  sound  unreal  in  the  halls 
of  his  splendid  mansion,  where  once  was  heard  those 
of  the  friends  of  his  youth  and  the  champions  of  his 
fame. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
i 

DRAMATIC  AUTHORS.— JOHN  AUGUSTUS  STONE.  —  DR. 
BIRD. ROBERT  T.  CONRAD. JACK  CADE. GLAD 
IATOR. ORALOOSA. SUCCESS  ATTENDING  THEIR 

PRODUCTION. — SKETCH  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  AU 
THOR  OF  METAMORA. — RICHARD  PENN  SMITH. — 
CAIUS  MARIUS. 

A  FTER  Mr.  Forrest's  great  success  as  a  youthful 
-£jL  star,  and  having  played  Othello,  so  as  to  divide 
the  honor  with  Mr.  Cooper,  he  could  command,  instead 
of  being  led,  by  others.  From  the  year  1830  we  date 
his  upward  course  ;  from  that  time  forth  his  ability  was 
universally  acknowledged.  For  several  years  he  was  the 
bright  particular  star  of  the  "  mimic  world/'  Having 
played  all  the  popular  pieces  so  well  known  to  play 
goers,  his  natural  feeling  awakened  in  him  a  desire  to 
produce  something  that  would  bring  our  own  writers 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FO 11  REST.  97 

before  the  public.  The  celebrated  Indian  play  of 
Metamora  brought  Mr.  Forrest  before  the  public  in 
quite  a  new  character.  Our  readers  are  familiar  not 
only  with  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  this  play,  but 
also  the  extraordinary  power  and  aboriginal  delinea 
tion  of  Metamora  by  Edwin  Forrest.  This  drama  was 
indebted  for  its  success  almost  entirely  to  the  actor,  as 
its  literary  merits  were  feeble  compared  to  the  produc 
tions  of  a  Conrad  and  a  Bird.  Mr.  Forrest  paid  the 
author  five  hundred  dollars  for  the  piece,  but  subse 
quently  did  much  more  for  the  unfortunate  man  who 
wrote  it. 

JOHN     AUGUSTUS    STONE 

was  born  in  Concord,  N.  H.,  1801.  Made  his  first 
appearance  on  the  stage  at  the  Washington  Garden 
Theatre,  Boston,  as  Old  Norval  in  Douglas.  In  1821 
he  married  Mrs.  Legg.  First  appeared  in  New  York  in 
1826,  at  the  Bowery  Theatre.  Removed  to  Philadel 
phia  and  played  at  the  Prune  Street  Theatre,  also  at 
the  Chestnut  and  Walnut  Street  Theatres.  Mr.  Stone 
produced  his  tragedy  of  Fauntleroy  in  Charleston, 
S.  C.  Metamora  was  first  played  on  the  occasion 
of  Mr.  Forrest's  benefit  at  the  Park  Theatre,  New 
York,  November  15th,  1829.  First  produced  in  this 
city  at  the  Arch  Street  Theatre,  January  22nd,  1830. 
Mr.  Stone  also  wrote  The  Demoniac,  Tancred,  The 
Restoration ;  or,  The  Diamond  Cross,  The  Ancient 
Briton,  played  at  the  Arch  Street  Theatre,  March 
27th,  1833,  Golden  Fleece,  etc.  His  unhappy  death 
by  suicide  occurred  in  this  city  June  1st,  1834.  It 
was  most  deliberate,  having  made  two  attempts  by 
throwing  himself  from  Spruce  Street  wharf,  Schuylkill ; 
6 


98  LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

from  the  first  he  was  rescued,  and  led  those  who  saved 
him  to  believe  it  was  an  accident.  A  few  hours  after 
ward  his  body  was  found  floating  in  the  dock.  Mr. 
Stone  was  a  man  of  nervous  temperament,  and  had  oc 
casionally  displayed  symptoms  of  incipient  insanity.  Mr. 
Forrest  caused  to  be  erected  a  neat  monument  over  his 
grave  at  Machpelah  Cemetery,  bearing  this  inscription : 

"  In  memory  of  the 

Author  of  '  Metamora,' 

By  His  Friend, 

E.  FORREST." 

What  a  volume  does  this  simple  inscription  convey  ! 

As  a  matter  of  dramatic  history  connected  with 
Metamora,  we  give  the  cast  as  originally  played  in  New 
York. 

METAMORA MR.  E.  FORREST. 

LORD  FITZARNOLD Mr.  RICIIINGS. 

SIR  ARTHUR  VAUGHN MR.  CHAPMAN. 

GrUY  OP  GODALMAN MR.  WOODHULL. 

HORATIO MR.  BARRY. 

ERRINGTON MR.  LANGTON. 

CHURCH MR.  T.  PLACIDE. 

WOLFE MR.  NIXEM. 

TRAMP MR.  POVEY. 

HOLYOKE MR.  WHEATLEY. 

KAUSHENE MR.  BLAKELEY. 

CHILD Miss  PARKER. 

OCEANA MRS.  HlLSON. 

NAHMEOKEE MRS.  SHARPE. 

Whatever  faults  this  tragedy  may  possess  as  a  lit 
erary  or  dramatic  production,  its  real  merits  keep  it 
living  on  the  stage ;  and  in  the  character  of  the  hero, 
no  dissenting  voice  has  qualified  Mr.  Forrest's  claim  to 
the  highest  excellence.  It  was  created  for,  and  entirely 
fitted  all  his  peculiarities. 

The  next  American  author  who  found  a  patron  in 
Edwin  Forrest  was  Kichard  Penn  Smith,  Esq.  On 
the  12th  of  January,  1831,  he  produced  Caius,  at  the 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FOEEEST.  99 

Arch  Street  Theatre.  It  was  not  a  success.  A  writer, 
speaking  of  this  play,  says  : — "  It  was  not  fairly  treated 
by  the  actors,  and  consequently  coldly  received  by  the 
audience."  Mr.  Forrest  paid  much  better  for  original 
plays  than  the  managers,  who  being  able  to  purchase 
the  best  plays  of  English  dramatists  for  a  few  shillings, 
felt  little  disposition  to  risk  hundreds  on  native  pro 
ductions.  Forrest,  however,  tried  the  experiment — 
risked  thousands  of  dollars  and  succeeded.  In  regular 
succession  Mr.  Forrest  produced  several  American  plays 
— Dr.  Bird's  Gladiator,  Oraloosa,  Broker  of  Bogota, 
and  Judge  Conrad's  Jack  Cade.  The  first  and  the 
last  piece  named,  probably  brought  more  money  into 
the  treasury  of  a  theatre  and  into  that  of  the  actor's, 
than  that  of  any  two  other  plays  in  his  repertoire. 

Oraloosa  was  produced  at  the  Arch  Street  Thea 
tre  October  10th,  1832.  It  did  not  produce  the  effect 
the  Gladiator  had — hence  its  failure.  The  public  had 
looked  for  something  even  better  than  the  hero  of 
the  arena,  and  found  an  inferior.  It  lacked  plot  and 
incident,  the  dialogue  tame,  and,  taken  altogether,  it 
was  a  dramatic  failure.  An  incident  occurred  on  its 
first  representation  which  Mr.  Wemyss,  in  his  "  Twenty- 
Six  Years  of  the  Life  of  an  Actor,"  thus  relates  : — "  To 
me  the  10th  of  October  and  the  tragedy  of  Oraloosa 
form  no  pleasing  remembrance — although  they  can 
never  be  forgotten.  They  have  caused  me  in  mimic 
fight,  too  real  for  fancy,  the  loss  of  two  front  teeth, 
which  Edwin  Forrest,  in  the  furore  of  acting,  dis 
placed  from  their  original  stronghold  in  my  mouth  by 
a  thrust  from  his  sword  at  the  head  of  Don  Christoval, 
occasioning  some  of  the  wags  of  the  green-room  an 
opportunity  of  making  a  bad  pun  by  declaring  that 


100  LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FOIIREST. 

Forrest  wished  to  teach  me  the  proper  pronunciation 
of  the  name  of  the  play  by  forcing  me  to  say  to  him, 
"  Oh-they -are-loose-sir." 

As  the  plays  of  the  Gladiator  and  Bogota  are 
familiar  to  our  readers,  it  is  not  necessary  to  speak  of 
them  here.  The  latter,  however — if  we  dare  express 
an  honest  opinion — may  be  considered  in  our  dramatic 
volume  in  the  same  light  that  Lear  is  in  that  of  the 
English.  Superior  as  the  latter  is  to  all  others  in  their 
country,  so  is  the  Broker  to  all  others  in  our  own. 
The  Gladiator,  by  Dr.  Bird,  is  also  familiar  to  our 
readers,  as  is  the  name  of  Robert  T.  Conrad  with  the 
play  of  Jack  Cade. 

The  Gladiator  was  first  produced  in  Philadelphia  at 
the  Arch  Street  Theatre,  on  the  24th  of  October,  1831. 
Mr.  Forrest's  Spartacus,  from  the  first  night  of  the 
Gladiator  until  the  day  of  his  death,  was  considered 
the  perfection  of  the  art  histrionic,  and  it  will  long  be 
remembered  as  one  of  the  gems  that  shone  upon  the 
stage  from  the  brilliant  mind  of  Edwin  Forrest.  Mr. 
John  E.  Scott  played  Phaisarius,  for  which  he  secured 
a  compliment  both  from  Mr.  Forrest  and  the  author. 
There  are  many  passages  in  the  Gladiator  of  ex 
treme  poetic  beauty ;  the  language  generally  is  bold 
and  impressive,  and  at  times  soars  far  above  the  gen 
eral  standard  of  dramatic  literature.  The  house  on  the 
occasion  was  crowded — in  fact,  it  was  a  perfect  ovation 
to  native  talent  as  displayed  by  author  and  actor. 

JACK    CADE. 

Jack  Cade,  or  at  least  the  play  by  this  name,  was 
not  originally  written  for  Edwin  Forrest.  Not  long 
since  we  had  occasion  to  allude  to  this  play  in  connec- 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FORREST.  101 

tion  with  the  author  and  actor,  and  as  the  article  forms 
a  link  in  the  chain  of  our  reminiscences — we  give  it 
here : 

Kobert  T.  Conrad's  first  production  was  Conrad 
of  Naples,  produced  at  the  Arch  Street  Theatre, 
Philadelphia,  on  the  evening  of  January  17th,  1832,  Mr. 
James  E.  Murdoch  enacting  the  part  of  Conrad.  Mr. 
Conrad's  crowning  effort,  however,  was  Jack  Cade, 
which  is  now  acknowledged  as  the  most  successful 
play  ever  produced  on  the  American  stage.  The  history 
of  this  great  American  play,  and  every  play  has  its 
history,  may  not  prove  uninteresting  to  our  readers. 

In  the  year  1835,  Robert  T.  Conrad,  Esq.,  wrote  a 
tragedy  for  A.  A.  Addams,  at  the  suggestion  of  F.  C. 
Weymss,  at  that  time  manager  of  the  Walnut  Street 
Theatre.  If  Mr.  Addams  approved  of  the  play,  he 
(Mr.  Weymss)  was  to  give  Mr.  Conrad  three  hundred 
dollars  for  the  manuscript  copy,  and  a  benefit  on  the 
third  night  of  its  representation.  It  was  called  The 
Noble  Yeoman.  The  title  was  subsequently  altered 
to  Aylmere,  and  finally  to  Jack  Cade.  Addams 
was  delighted  with  the  play,  it  was  accepted,  and 
L.  A.  Godey  and  Morton  McMichael  witnessed  the 
contract  between  F.  C.  Weymss  and  Eobert  T.  Conrad. 
The  document  bears  date  October  2nd,  1835. 

On  the  night  of  the  intended  representation,  Mr. 
Addams  was  seized  with  a  disease  to  which  he  was 
subject,  and  of  which  he  ultimately  died.  This  disease 
is  one  of  a  peculiar  character,  and  is  known  in  the 
medical  world  as  mania-d-potu.  In  consequence  the 
play  was  postponed.  The  part  was  then  given  to  a 
young  and  talented  actor  by  the  name  of  Ingersoll,  and 
against  the  wishes  of  Mr.  Conrad  and  the  committee. 


102  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORREST. 

The  piece  was  first  played  at  the  Walnut  Street  Thea 
tre  on  the  9th  of  December,  1835. 

Mr.  A.  A.  Addams  first  enacted  the  part  on  the  first 
of  February,  1836,  and  made  a  failure.  The  third 
night  the  proceeds  amounted  to  only  one  hundred  and 
eighteen  dollars. 

In  1839  the  first  proposition  was  made  to  Mr.  Edwin 
Forrest  to  play  the  part,  providing  Judge  Conrad 
would  rewrite  it.  We  pass  over  this  portion  of  the 
history  of  Jack  Cade  as  possessing  no  dramatic  in 
terest,  until  it  came  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Forrest. 
This  gentleman  superintended  the  alterations,  adapt 
ing  certain  portions  to  suit  his  transcendent  powers, 
and  having  purchased  the  sole  right  and  title  of  the 
piece  from  the  author,  Kobert  T.  Conrad,  he  prepared 
himself  for  its  production  under  the  title  of  Jack  Cade. 

It  was  first  played  at  the  Park  Theatre,  New  York, 
on  the  24th  of  May,  1840,  under  its  second  title 
of  Aylmere  ;  or,  The  Kentish  Rebellion,  but  after 
wards  changed  to  that  of  Jack  Cade.  It  was  sub 
sequently  played  at  the  Arch  Street  Theatre,  Phila 
delphia,  June  16th,  1841,  since  which  time  the  genius  of 
Mr.  Forrest,  with  his  high-wrought  dramatic  powers, 
has  thrown  around  the  great  character  of  Cade  an  at 
mosphere  so  refined  in  its  elementary  principles  that 
no  one  as  yet  has  been  enabled  to  destroy  its  influence. 
The  actor  and  hero  of  the  piece  unite  and  maintain  a 
supremacy  over  all  competitors.  Those  who  have  es 
sayed  it  lacked  the  fire — the  soul,  the  startling  mental 
and  physical  powers  of  this  great  master  of  the  his 
trionic  art. 

In  a  future  chapter  we  will  allude  more  particular 
ly  to  these  plays  and  their  authors. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

CONTEMPLATES    AN    EUROPEAN    TOUR. — TAKES    LEAVE 

OF       HIS      PHILADELPHIA      FRIENDS. HIS      SPEECH 

ON     THE     OCCASION. BOWERY      THEATRE,    N.    Y. 

THOMAS    A.    COOPER. FORREST    ENACTS    THE     PART 

OF    DENTATUS     IN    THE     PLAY    OF    V1RGINIUS. BRO 
KER     OF    BOGOTA. SKETCH  OF     THE     LIFE     OF    MR. 

COOPER. COMPLIMENTARY     DINNER     TO     MR.     FOR 
REST.  TESTIMONIALS. GOLD  MEDAL. FAREWELL 

SPEECH. DEPARTURE    TO    EUROPE. 

~A/TR.  FORREST  having  amassed  a  fortune,  or  at 
-L'-L-  least  sufficient  to  justify  a  cessation  from  his 
labors,  determined  to  make  the  tour  of  Europe  as  a 
private  gentleman,  and  not  as  a  distinguished  tra 
gedian.  He  had  read  of  those  lands  in  which  the 
heroes  of  the  "mimic  world"  flourished  in  all  their 
might  and  glory.  He  longed  to  tread  the  classic 
ground  on  which  the  poets  of  old  immortalized  their 
heroes  in  inspired  verse.  To  a  mind  alive  to  all  that 
appertained  to  art,  the  idea  of  visiting  foreign  lands  is 
at  all  times  pleasing,  but  the  reality  to  one  of  Mr. 
Forrest's  taste  and  judgment  was  but  the  consumma 
tion  of  his  boyhood's  dream. 

On  the  2nd  of  April,  1833,  he  played  his  farewell 
engagement,  previous  to  his  departure,  at  the  Arch 
Street  Theatre.  The  play  was  King  Lear,  and  it  was 
remarked  at  the  time  that  his  impersonation  of  the 
irritable,  choleric  old  king  of  fourscore  and  upward,  was 

(103) 


104  LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FORREST. 

the  most  chaste  performance  that  had  ever  been  seen, 
not  even  equalled  by  the  elder  Kean.  After  the  play 
Mr.  Forrest  was  unanimously  called  for ;  he  responded 
to  the  call,  and  thus  addressed  the  audience : 

"  LADIES  ASTD  GENTLEMEN: — I  cannot  resist  the  oppor 
tunity  which  now  discloses  itself,  of  returning  to  you  my 
cordial  thanks  for  the  very  kind  manner  with  which  you 
have  been  pleased  to  notice  my  humble  efforts,  and  for 
your  untired  and  warm  support  of  my  exertions  to  please 
you  as  a  tragedian.  (Cheers.)  But  particularly,  I  feel 
grateful  for  the  honorable  support  I  have  received  in  my 
anxious  endeavors  to  give  to  my  country,  by  fostering 
the  exertions  of  our  literary  friends,  something  like  what 
might  be  called  an  American  national  drama.  (Reiterated 
cheers.)  Some  time  must  elapse  before  we  can  meet  again. 
I  am  now  going  to  a  foreign  land,  to  study  the  voluminous 
book  of  nature  amid  the  extensive  forests,  the  flowering 
prairies,  and  the  wild  mountain  tops;  and  though  I  may 
not  be  blessed  by  your  smiles  in  my  progress,  it  shall  be 
my  duty  to  deserve  them  the  more  on  my  return,  when 
next  season  we  shall  meet  again,  Wishing  you  all,  there 
fore,  health  and  happiness,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  with  un 
feigned  gratitude  and  a  lively  sense  of  your  favors,  I  re 
gretfully  bid  you  all  adieu !  "  (Continued  cheers.) 

On  the  27th  of  November,  1833,  Mr.  Forrest  com 
menced  an  engagement  at  the  Bowery  Theatre,  N.  Y., 
as  Damon ;  followed  by  Macbeth,  Virginius,  Holla, 
Metamora,  Spartacus,  Othello,  Oraloosa,  and  Carwin. 
He  was  ably  supported  by  Henry  Wallack,  Mrs.  Mc- 
Clure  and  Mrs.  Flynn.  This  engagement  closed  on  the 
23d  of  December.  He  commenced  a  new  engagement 
on  the  5th  of  February,  1834,  as  Metamora.  On  the  8th, 
Mr.  Cooper  appeared  as  Pierre,  to  Forrest's  Jaffier  and 
Mrs.  McClure's  Belvidera.  On  the  llth,  Cooper  played 
Damon,  with  Forrest  as  Pythias.  On  the  12th,  Julius 
Cassar  was  played — Cooper  as  Cassius,  Forrest  as  Marc 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FORREST.  1Q5 

I 

Antony.  On  the  17th,  Mr.  Cooper  took  his  benefit — 
playing  Virginius— one  of  his  best  preserved  parts,  sup 
ported  by  Hamblin  as  Icilius  !  and  FORREST  as  DENTA- 
TUS  !  Miss  Priscilla  Elizabeth  Cooper  as  Virginia. 

Such  a  combination  of  dramatic  talent  is  seldom  to 
be  found  in  stage  annals  ;  there  is  also  another  feature 
in  this  connection  to  which  we  allude.  Mr.  Cooper  had 
been  Mr.  Forrest's  idol ;  he  had  looked  upon  him  as 
the  great  master  of  the  histrionic  art,  and  although  not 
his  tutor  was  the  classic  model  from  which  he  fashioned 
his  own  impersonations.  At  that  period  Mr.  Cooper 
was  only  fifty-eight  years  of  age,  yet  he  was  far  more 
feeble  than  others  of  his  own  time  of  life,  and  it  began 
to  show  its  effect  on  his  acting.  Mr.  Forrest  was  at  that 
time  in  the  very  prime  of  life,  full  of  strength,  and  at 
the  age  of  twenty-eight  a  rising  star  that  was  to  eclipse 
all  other  luminaries.  Here  was  the  man  who  in  his 
boyhood  looked  upon  Cooper,  the  great  actor,  as  some 
mythical  god,  to  be  worshipped,  taking  an  equal  part 
in  the  great  works  of  the  master  spirit  of  the  "  mimic 
world/'  and  illustrating  by  his  genius  and  the  powers 
of  art  the  noblest  pictures  that  were  ever  drawn  by 
mortal  hand.  Here  was  master  and  pupil  contending 
in  the  arena  for  fame — the  one  having  reached  its  apex, 
the  other  striving  to  gain  it.  The  youthful  vine  was 
twining  itself  around  the  falling  oak,  giving  it  new  life 
— new  vigor.  Both  have  now  passed  away ;  the  laurels 
that  wreathed  their  brows,  and  gathered  new  vigor 
each  succeeding  season,  still  deck  their  memory ;  and 
although  ages  may  pass  away,  the  names  of  Cooper 
and  Forrest  will  never  be  forgotten  while  the  stage  and 
the  drama  maintain  their  character  and  usefulness  in 
the  world.  On  the  15th  of  July,  1834,  Mr.  Forrest 


106  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORREST. 

concluded  his  last  engagement  at  the  Bowery  Theatre, 
previous  to  his  visiting  Europe.  The  play  on  the  occa 
sion  was  The  Broker  of  Bogota. 

As  Mr.  Cooper's  name  is  identified  with  our  stage 
history,  as  well  as  that  of  the  subject  of  these  Rem 
iniscences,  a  short  sketch  of  his  life  may  not  be  out 
of  place. 

Thomas  Althorpe  Cooper  was  born  in  London  in 
1776.  At  an  early  age  he  lost  his  father,  and  became 
the  ward  of  Messrs.  Holcroft  and  Godwin,  names  well 
known  in  British  literature  and  politics,  the  latter  be 
ing  the  celebrated  author  of  "  Caleb  Williams/'  "  Fleet- 
wood,"  etc.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  made  his  first 
successful  appearance  on  the  stage,  in  London,  as 
Hamlet,  under  the  auspices  of  his  gifted  guardians  and 
other  gentlemen  of  learning  and  influence.  Although 
he  had  partially  failed  as  Malcolm,  in  Macbeth,  his 
first  unsuccessful  attempt,  he  subsequently  achieved  a 
triumph  in  the  latter  character.  Mrs.  Merry,  after  she 
had  retired  from  the  stage,  was  passing  some  time  in 
Bath,  England,  where  she  received  a  letter  from  her 
husband,  telling  her  that  aa  most  extraordinary  lad  of 
nineteen,  named  Cooper,  said  to  be  a  ward  of  Godwin, 
has  created  much  sensation  by  his  admirable  perform 
ance  of  Hamlet,  but  more  of  Macbeth." 

It  was  Mrs.  Merry  who  suggested  young  Cooper  to 
Mr.  Wignell,  who  was  in  England  looking  up  recruits 
for  the  Chestnut  Street  Theatre.  Wignell,  at  the  in 
stance  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Merry,  engaged  him,  offering 
him  a  first-class  engagement.  He  made  his  first  ap 
pearance  in  Philadelphia,  at  the  Chestnut  Street  The 
atre,  on  the  9th  of  December,  1796,  as  Macbeth.  "  At 
this  time,"  says  William  B.  Wood,  "several  persons  of 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FORREST.  1Q7 

education  condescended  to  notice  the  actors  and  plays. 
With  most  of  these  Fennell  and  Moreton  had  won 
high  estimation,  and  Cooper's  debut  seemed  likely  to 
darken  the  fame  of  the  old  favorites." 

Cooper  made  his  first  appearance  in  New  York  Park 
Theatre,  on  the  28th  of  February,  1798,  in  the  part  of 
Hamlet.  A  writer  says,  speaking  of  his  debut:  "  With 
a  handsome  face  and  noble  person,  a  fine  mellow  voice, 
unusual  dignity  of  manner  and  grace  of  action,  and  in 
his  declamation  most  forcible  and  eloquent.  As  a  tra 
gedian  he  was  without  a  rival."  In  1800,  Cooper  had 
the  honor  of  acting  upon  the  first  theatre  ever  opened 
in  the  City  of  Washington.  The  parts  in  Venice  Pre 
served,  on  this  occasion,  were  filled  thus  :  Jaffier,  Wig- 
nell ;  Pierre,  Cooper  ;  Priuli,  Warren  ;  Belvidere,  Mrs. 
Merry.  In  1802  he  entered  upon  a  career  of  starring, 
finding  it  less  laborious  and  far  more  profitable  than 
the  drudgery  of  a  stock  actor.  He  saw  Fennell,  who 
was  declining  in  power  and  estimation,  yet  receiving  in 
six  or  eight  nights  a  larger  remuneration  than  he  was 
receiving  for  three  months'  regular  service. 

These  two  eminent  stars  came  together  like  two 
planets,  by  each  other's  attraction,  and  began  playing 
together  about  the  year  1799.  Fennell's  Othello  was 
his  masterpiece,  and  when  Cooper,  in  the  full  face  of 
the  other's  popularity,  essayed  the  part,  it  was  almost 
a  failure,  judging  by  the  worst  of  all  rules  of  criticism 
— comparison. 

Fennell  invariably  made  the  Moor  black  ;  in  fact,  a 
decided  negro.  Cooper  tinged  his  skin  to  the  color  of 
a  mulatto ;  or,  more  properly  speaking,  to  that  of  a 
Moor.  Cooper,  at  first,  was  very  imperfect  in  the  text, 
as,  for  instance,  when  he  has  to  use  these  words  : 


108  LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FOEEEST. 

"  Yet  I  will  not  scar  that  whiter  skin  than  snow, 
and  smooth  as  monumental  alabaster ; " 

He  substituted : 

"  I  will  not  scar  that  beauteous  form,  as  white  as 
snow  and  hard  as  monumental  alabaster." 

An  actor  by  the  name  of  Higgins,  not  to  be  out 
done  by  Cooper,  on  one  occasion  playing  the  Duke,  in 
Othello,  having  to  say  these  words : 

"  Take  up  this  tangled  matter  at  the  best,"  etc. ; 
actually  substituted  the  following : 

"  Take  up  the  Star  Spangled  Banner  and  carry  it 
off  to  the  West." 

This  is  an  actual  fact.  Higgins  was  a  member  of 
the  old  South  Street  Theatre  Amateur  Company.  His 
extraordinary  interpretation  of  the  language  of  Shake 
speare  was  the  cause  of  his  leaving  the  theatre.  He 
went  to  New  Orleans,  became  a  member  of  Caldwell's 
company,  and  when  last  we  saw  him  in  the  Crescent 
City,  he  was  selling  lottery  tickets  and  lottery  poli 
cies,  to  the  demoralization  of  those  who  encouraged 
him. 

In  1806  Cooper  became  manager  of  the  Park  The 
atre,  and  afterward  associated  with  Stephen  Price,  with 
whom  he  continued  several  years,  till  he  resigned  man 
agement  for  the  more  profitable  career  of  starring.  His 
first  wife,  formerly  Mrs.  Upton,  a  daughter  of  David 
Johnson,  Esq.,  of  N.  Y.,  died  in  1808  ;  and  by  his  mar 
riage,  in  1812,  with  the  most  beautiful  and  brilliant 
belle  of  the  city  (the  Sophy  Sparkle  of  Irving's  Salma 
gundi),  Miss  Mary  Fairlie,  daughter  of  the  celebrated 
wit,  Major  James  Fairlie,  and  grand-daughter  of  Gov. 
Kobert  Yates.  Mr.  Cooper  became  allied  to  some  of  the 
most  eminent  families  in  the  State,  and  his  society  was 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOKEEST.  109 

eagerly  courted  by  all  who  made  pretensions  to  taste 
or  fashion. 

Mr.  Cooper  visited  England  in  1803 ;  his  reception 
was  cold,  for  he  claimed  to  be  an  American  actor — a 
title  which  at  that  time,  and  up  to  1845,  was  far  from 
being  a  recommendation.  In  1828  he  again  visited 
England,  and  was  actually  hissed  and  groaned  while 
playing  at  Drury  Lane  Theatre.  During  his  first  visit 
to  England  he  played  lago  to  Cooke's  Othello.  He 
subsequently  visited  Liverpool ;  he  then  went  to  Man 
chester,  and  opened  with  Richard  III.,  Cooke's  great 
part.  Upon  his  appearance,  a  large  audience  greeted 
him  with  every  kind  of  noise  and  insult,  and  shouts  for 
"  Cooke  !  Cooke  ! "  "  No  Yankee  actors  !"  "  Off  with 
him,"  and  other  offensive  cries.  Such  was  Cooper's 
reception  in  England,  simply  because  he  was  looked 
upon  as  a  "  Yankee." 

After  his  retirement  from  the  stage,  the  marriage 
of  his  amiable  and  accomplished  daughter,  Miss  Pris- 
cilla  Elizabeth  Cooper,  to  Robert  Tyler,  a  son  of  Presi 
dent  Tyler,  afforded  him  the  advantage  of  Presidential 
patronage,  and  in  November,  1841,  he  was  appointed 
Military  Storekeeper  to  the  Arsenal,  Frankford,  Pa., 
with  the  pay  and  perquisites  of  a  captain  of  infantry. 
Subsequently  he  was  appointed  to  a  situation  in  the 
New  York  Custom  House,  a  situation  he  held  until  a 
short  time  before  his  death,  which  took  place  at  Bris 
tol,  Pa.,  April  21st,  1849  ;  aged  73  years. 

In  the  summer  of  1834,  Mr.  Forrest  was  honored 
by  a  public  banquet  tendered  him  by  his  numerous 
friends  in  New  York,  which  was  attended  by  some  of 
the  most  distinguished  citizens.  Numerous  testimo 
nials  were  shown  him  by  his  countrymen  as  compli- 


HO  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

mentary  to  his  genius  and  talents.  This  pleasing 
event  took  place  on  the  25th  of  July,  1834.  Chan 
cellor  McCoun  presided.  On  the  right  of  the  presi 
dent  was  seated  the  guest  in  whose  honor  the  feast 
was  provided,  and  on  his  left  the  Hon.  Cornelius 
Lawrence,  Mayor  of  the  city.  Among  the  guests 
were  the  managers  of  the  several  principal  theatres. 
The  address  of  the  distinguished  president  was  a 
brilliant  one;  he  alluded  to  Mr.  Forrest's  close  iden 
tification  with  what  is  called  the  "American 
Drama."  During  the  short  period  of  eight  years, 
five  productions  have  been  written  principally  through 
his  instrumentality,  which  else,  perhaps  would  never 
have  found  their  way  into  existence.  Gentlemen, 
continued  President  McCoun : 

"I  have  thus  far  dwelt  on  points  in  the  performer's  his 
tory  and  character,  with  which  you  are  all  acquainted.  There 
are  other  topics  on  which  I  might  touch,  did  I  not  fear  to 
invade  the  heart — not  less  entitled  to  your  admiration. 
But  there  are  some  feelings,  in  breasts  of  honor  and  deli 
cacy,  which,  though  commendable,  cannot  brook  exposure ; 
as  there  are  plants  which  flourish  in  the  caves  of  the  ocean, 
that  wither  when  brought  to  the  light  of  the  day.  I  shall, 
therefore,  simply  say,  that  in  private  relations,  as  in  public 
career,  he  has  performed  well  his  part,  and  made  esteem  a 
twin  sentiment  with  admiration  in  every  heart  that  knows 
him.  I  need  not  tell  you,  gentlemen,  that  I  speak  of  Ed 
win  Forrest. 

"Mr.  Forrest  is  on  the  eve  of  departure  for  foreign 
lands.  To  a  man  combining  so  many  claims  for  our  regard, 
it  lias  been  thought  proper,  by  his  fellow-citizens,  to  pre 
sent  a  farewell  token  of  friendship  and  respect ;  a  token 
which  may  at  once  serve  to  keep  him  mindful  that  Ameri 
cans  properly  appreciate  the  genius  and  worth  of  their  own 
land ;  and  which  may  testify  to  foreigners  the  high  place 
he  holds  in  our  esteem. 

"  Mr.  Forrest,  I  now  place  this  memorial  in  your  hands. 
— It  is  one  in  which  many  of  your  countrymen  have  been 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORREST. 

emulous  to  bear  a  part.  It  is  a  proud  proof  of  unusual 
virtues  and  talents,  and  as  such  may  be  proudly  worn. 
You  will  mingle  in  throngs  where  jewelled  insignia  glit 
ter  on  titled  breasts;  but  yours  may  justly  be  the  reflec 
tion,  that  few  badges  of  distinction  are  the  reward  of 
qualities  so  deserving  of  honor,  as  those  attested  by  the 
humbler  memorial  which  now  rests  upon  your  bosom." 

With  these  remarks,  the  President  introduced 
the  toast,  which  was  as  follows : 

"  Edwin  Forrest :  estimable  for  his  virtues — admirable 
for  his  talents.  Good  wishes  attend  his  departure,  and 
warm  hearts  will  greet  his  return." 

The  committee  appointed  to  get  up  the  gold 
medal,  presented  on  the  occasion,  consisted  of:  Ogden 
Hoffman,  Fitz-Greene  Halleck,  Dr.  Hosack,  Judge 
Talmadge,  William  C.  Bryant,  Washington  Irving, 
William  G.  Simms,  Kobert  W.  Weir,  T.  H.  Per 
kins,  Jr.,  Philip  Hone,  and  others.  The  medal  was 
designed  by  Ingham  and  engraved  by  C.  C.  Durand. 
It  represents  Mr.  Forrest  in  profile,  surrounded  by  the 
words : 

"Histrioni  Optimo,  Edwino  Forrest,  Viro-Praestanti;" 
and  on  the  reverse,  a  figure  of  the  Genius  of  Tragedy, 
with  the  following  appropriate  quotation  from  the  great 
bard  of  Avon :  "  Great  in  mouths  of  wisest  censure." 

The  applause  which  followed  the  President's 
speech,  and  presentation  of  the  medal,  fully  approved 
of  its  sentiments.  As  soon  as  it  had  subsided,  Mr. 
Forrest  rose,  and  though  somewhat  affected,  replied  as 
follows : 

"  This  token  of  your  regard,  I  need  not  tell  you  how 
dearly  I  shall  prize.  I  am  about  to  visit  foreign  lands.  In 
a  few  months,  I  shall  probably  behold  the  tomb  of  Garrick 
— Garrick,  the  pupil  of  Johnson,  the  companion  and  friend 
of  statesmen  and  wits  —  Garrick,  who  now  sleeps  sur- 


112  LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FOBREST. 

rounded  by  the  relics  of  the  kings  and  heroes,  orators 
and  bards,  the  magnets  of  the  earth.  I  shall  contem 
plate  the  mausoleum  which  encloses  the  remains  of  Talma 
— Talma,  the  familiar  friend  of  him,  before  whom  mon- 
archs  trembled.  I  shall  tread  the  classic  soil  with  which 
is  mingled  the  dust  of  Roscius — of  Roscius,  the  preceptor 
of  Cicero,  whose  voice  was  lifted  for  him  at  the  forum, 
and  whose  tears  were  shed  upon  his  grave.  While  I 
thus  behold  with  deferential  awe,  the  last  resting  places 
of  those  departed  monarchs  of  the  drama,  how  will  my 
bosom  kindle  with  pride  at  the  reflection,  that  I,  so  in 
ferior  in  desert,  have  yet  been  honored  with  a  token  as 
proud  as  ever  rewarded  their  successful  efforts.  I  shall 
then  look  upon  this  memorial;  but  while  my  eye  is  riveted 
within  its  '  golden  round,'  my  mind  will  travel  back  to  this 
scene  and  this  hour,  and  my  heart  will  be  with  you  in  my 
native  land. 

"  Mr.  President,  in  conclusion  let  me  express  my  grate 
ful  sense  of  goodness  by  proposing,  as  a  sentiment : 

"  The  Citizens  of  New  York : — Distinguished  not  more 
by  intelligence,  enterprise  and  integrity,  than  by  that  gen 
erous  and  noble  spirit  which  welcomes  the  stranger  and 
succors  the  friendless." 

Shortly  after  this  demonstration  on  the  part  of  his 
friends,  Mr.  Forrest  might  have  exclaimed  with  Ham 
let,  although  with  a  different  result : 

Hamlet.— For  England? 
King. — Ay,  Hamlet. 
Hamlet. — Come,  for  England  1 


CHAPTER   IX. 

IN  EUROPE. — PILGRIM  ON  THE  RHINE.  —  IN  ASIA. — 
NAPLES.  —  VENICE. — VERONA. — TOMB  OF  JULIET. — 
GLANCE  OF  TRAVEL. — THE  YANKEE  IN  ST.  PETERS 
BURG. —  INTERVIEW  WITH  GEORGE  M.  DALLAS. — 
MOROCCO.  —  ROME.  —  THE  VATICAN.  —  VALUE  OF  A 
PICTURE. — CASTLE  OF  ST.  ANGELO. — AN  INCIDENT. 
—  DELARUE.  —  A  PAGE  FROM  CLASSIC  HISTORY. 

IF  Mr.  Forrest  kept  a  journal  of  his  travels,  of  which 
we  are  not  aware,  what  a  theme  for  one  so  gift 
ed — a  mind  richly  imbued  with  classical  lore,  a  soul 
tuned  to  poetry,  and  a  lover  of  all  that  was  beautiful 
in  nature  and  rich  in  art,  to  write  and  speak  about ! 
Suffice  for  us  to  say,  that  he  mingled  in  the  festivities 
of  Paris,  visited  all  the  places  of  interest,  which  the 
startling  events  of  ages  had  rendered  memorable,  and 
stained  its  record  with  blood  !  How  he  became  a  pil 
grim  of  the  Danube,  wandered  over  Switzerland,  visited 
the  places  where  the  fabulous  William  Tell  was  sup 
posed  to  have  held  his  mythical  existence  and  perform 
all  sorts  of  mythical  deeds.  He  sailed  on  the  raging 
Baltic,  and  travelled  on  the  patriotic  ground  of  Poland. 
He  was  seen  standing  on  the  lofty  parapet  of  the  Krem 
lin,  at  Moscow,  surveying  from  its  giddy  height  the 
sacred  city  of  the  mighty  Autocrat  of  all  the  Russias. 
He  gazed  upon  the  crescent  towers  of  Constantinople, 
crossed  the  Euxine,  and  wandered  over  portions  of  Asia 
7  (113) 


114  LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FORREST. 

Minor.  Then  we  find  him  sojourning  in  Africa,  tread 
ing  upon  the  soil  that  gave  birth  to  Othello,  whom  the 
great  artist  painted  as  one  of  the  most  noble  and  ac 
complished  of  the  proud  children  of  the  Ommades  and 
the  Albacides,  and  who  Koderigo  profanely  called 
"thick  lips/'  and  lago  styled  the  "Devil."  Then  at 
Naples,  gazing  on  the  glorious  Adriatic,  or  watching 
the  smoke  and  fire  as  they  curl  and  blaze  up  in  terrific 
grandeur  from  Vesuvius.  For  two  hundred  years  this 
chimney  of  the  earth  has  thrown  out  its  smoke  and 
flame  to  admiring  millions,  and  not  unfrequently  turn 
ing  that  admiration  into  horror,  for  death  and  destruc 
tion  were  around  them.  Follow  him  to  Venice — there 
he  stands  on  the  Bridge  of  Sighs,  which,  like  a  bracelet, 
encircles  the  arm  of  the  bride  of  the  Adriatic.  City  of 
Lakes  and  five  hundred  bridges,  gondoliers  and  assas 
sins  !  There,  too,  he  thought  of  Shylock,  as  he  stood 
on  the  Kialto,  with  its  single  arch  of  187  feet.  There, 
too,  was  the  Doge's  palace,  and  its  proud,  towering 
Campanile.  Then  he  gazed  on  the  Corinthian  horse, 
the  workmanship  of  Lysippus,  who  lived  in  the  time  of 
Alexander  the  Great,  and  the  winged  lion  of  the  Pira3us. 
Then  we  see  him  at  Verona,  standing  beside  the 
sarcophagus  of  Juliet — the  Juliet  of  Shakespeare's 
tragedy  of  Borneo  and  Juliet.  We  have  simply 
glanced  over  places  and  scenes  witnessed  by  Mr.  For 
rest  in  his  travels.  We  will  now  relate  one  or  two 
incidents  connected  with  them : 

THE   YANKEE    IN    ST.    PETERSBUKG. 

When  Mr.  Forrest  was  in  St.  Petersburg,  the  Hon. 
George  M.  Dallas  was  the  American  Minister  at  the  Im 
perial  Court.  The  great  actor  and  that  accomplished 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FORREST.  H5 

statesman  met  frequently ;  every  attention  was  paid  the 
former,  and  facilities  afforded  him  of  seeing  everything 
worthy  the  attention  of  a  traveller.  We  give  the  fol 
lowing  incident,  using  our  own  language,  adhering, 
however,  as  strictly  as  memory  will  permit,  to  that 
in  which  it  was  related  to  us  by  Mr.  Forrest. 

"  I  am  very  much  troubled,"  said  Dallas,  one  day, 
to  Mr.  Forrest,  "about  a  countryman  of  ours." 

"Who  is  he?" 

"Well,  I  really  do  not  know;  he  seems  a  sort  of 
Cosmopolite.  He  says  he  is  from  Massachusetts,  trav 
elling,  as  he 'says,  to  pick  up  information." 

"  Why,  how  does  he  trouble  you  ?" 

"In  this  way — he  wants  me  to  introduce  him  to 
the  Emperor." 

"And  why  not?" 

"  Simply  because  he  is  an  adventurer,  without  a 
single  letter  of  introduction." 

"  He  has  his  passport  ?  " 

"Yes — but  his  appearance,  and  my  having  no 
knowledge  of  the  man,  will  not  justify  such  a  breach 
of  court  etiquette." 

Forrest  agreed  with  Mr.  Dallas  and  observed : 

"  The  fellow  is  probably  an  impostor." 

"No,"  replied  Dallas;  "he  is  a  true  genuine  Yan 
kee — a  man  of  some  education — evidently  well  read ; 
but  his  dress  ;  he  wears  large  coarse  boots  over  his  pan 
taloons,  which,  being  wide,  gives  him  the  appearance 
of  a  down-east  fisherman.  He  stands  about  six  feet  in 
height,  carries  an  enormous  cane — or  rather  club — and 
altogether  presents  a  formidable,  if  not  to  the  police,  a 
suspicious  person.  He  is,  I  know,  under  strict  surveil 
lance." 


116  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

"I  should  like  to  see  this  man." 

"  So  you  can,  but  now  comes  the  most  amusing  part 
of  my  interview  with  him,  when  I  stated  the  impractica 
bility  of  his  request,  and  that  I  could  not  take  so  much 
liberty  with  the  Emperor,  he  turned  upon  his  heel  say 
ing:  'Well,  Squire,  I  think  I  shall  introduce  myself.'" 

Some  days  after  this  conversation  Mr.  Forrest 
called  upon  Mr.  Dallas,  and  found  him  somewhat  ex 
cited. 

"I  have  just  returned  from  the  palace,  where  I  had 
gone  on  special  business,  and  by  appointment.  When 
I  was  ushered  into  his  majesty's  presence,  whom  do 
you  suppose  was  with  him  ?  " 

"Really,  I  don't  know!" 

"  That  Yankee ;  boots,  stick  and  all." 

Forrest  laughed  outright. 

"  Yes,  there  he  was,  sitting  near  to  the  Emperor, 
and  in  the  most  emphatic,  as  well  as  familiar  manner, 
was  explaining  some  theory  of  his,  to  which  the  Em 
peror  seemed  to  listen  with  much  interest.  As  I  ap 
proached,  the  Yankee  turned  his  head;  and  seeing  me, 
exclaimed : 

" '  How'd  ye  do,  Squire.     You  see  I  am  here/ 

"  To  my  surprise  the  Emperor  dismissed  him  with 
these  words : 

"'We  will  talk  this  matter  over  again/  and  turn 
ing  to  an  attendant,  said: — 'Conduct  this  gentleman 
out/  When  the  visitor  had  disappeared,  the  Emperor 
said : — c  A  strange  man  that — a  great  traveller — a  man 
of  wonderful  knowledge/ 

"  I  did  not  contradict  him,  as  I  found  the  fellow 
had,  by  some  means  unknown  to  me,  obtained  an  in 
terview." 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FOHKEST.  H7 

"But  how  and  by  what  means  did  he  gain  admis- 
eion?" 

"In  this  way,  as  I  subsequently  ascertained. 

"It  seems  that  he  had  been  all  over  St.  Petersburg, 
making  inquiries  relative  to  the  various  places  of  inter 
est,  and  whenever  he  could  gain  admission,  apart  from 
places  of  amusement,  he  availed  himself  of  the  priv 
ilege  by  examining  everything  thoroughly  and  telling 
all  he  knew  about  similar  establishments  in  America. 
What  attracted  his  attention  the  most  were  the  mili 
tary  schools.  Into  one  of  these — the  "  School  of  Ca 
dets" —  our  Yankee  found  his  way.  The  military 
schools  of  Kussia  receive  the  special  attention  of  the 
Emperor.  His  officers  are  strict  disciplinarians,  and 
study  to  gain  the  confidence  of  their  ruler  as  well  as  to 
carry  out  his  plans  on  all  occasions.  The  command 
ant  of  the  "School  of  Cadets "  soon  discovered  that  his 
visitor  was  no  common  man ;  his  military  knowledge 
was  extensive,  and  he  so  won  upon  the  Russian  officer 
that  he  listened  to  our  Yankee's  full  description  of 
West  Point  and  other  military  establishments  of  the 
United  States  with  the  closest  attention.  'You  are 
behind  the  age,  Squire/  says  he,  'in  many  things/  He 
then  went  into  a  full  detail  of  our  military  system — 
system  of  drill,  etc.  The  officer  got  new  ideas  from  his 
strange  visitor,  and  remarked:  'I  wish  the  Emperor 
could  have  a  talk  with  you,  as  some  of  your  views 
would  suit  him,  I  feel  satisfied/ 

"'Just  what  I  want,  Squire;  our  Minister  here  is 
a  little  backward  about  introducing  me,  but  he  is  a 
Philadelphia!!  and  don't  understand  Massachusetts 
customs.  We  are  a  go-ahead  people  there,  and  don't 
stand  upon  ceremony,  Squire/ 


118  LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FOKEEST. 

" '  I  think  I  can  manage  it ;  but  your  costume — ' 

"'Exactly;  our  Minister  who  dresses  so  fine,  and 
looks  as  if  he  had  just  came  out  of  a  bandbox,  did  look 
as  if  I  was  not  the  cheese/ 

"<  Cheese  ?' 

"'Yes,  I  mean  the  thing/ 

"£I  presume  it  is  the  fashion  of  your  country?' 

"'No,  not  exactly,  only  a  portion  of  it,  and  that 
portion  is  called  e Down  East/  " 

This  description  of  the  Yankee's  interview  was 
given  to  Mr.  Dallas  by  the  commandant,  and  as  he 
spoke  English  fluently,  he  gave  it  almost  verbatim.  It 
was  arranged  that  at  the  next  visit  of  the  Emperor  to 
the  school  the  Yankee  was  to  be  there,  and  at  a  given 
signal  was  to  make  his  appearance.  The  interview 
was  effected,  and  the  Emperor  became  so  interested 
with  him  that  he  took  him  along  to  the  palace. 

When  Mr.  Forrest  left  St.  Petersburg  the  Yankee 
was  in  high  favor  with  the  Emperor — indeed,  so  much 
that  a  carriage  was  allotted  him  to  visit  places  of  in 
terest — he  had  made  a  hit  at  the  Court  of  St.  Peters 
burg.  In  connection  with  this  incident  there  is  another 
which  occurred  while  Mr.  Dallas  was  Minister  at  this 
place.  It  is  that  of  a  Yankee  who  had  an  interview 
with  the  Emperor  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  him 
with  an  acorn  which  grew  on  an  oak  over  the  tomb  of 
Washington.  Whether  this  was  the  same  individual 
or  not  we  are  unable  to  say. 

FORREST     IN     MOROCCO. 

Here  we  find  him  endeavoring  to  trace  out  from 
its  mixed  race  who  were  its  principal  inhabitants ;  the 
Berbers,  the  Amazigs,  the  Arabs,  or  the  Mahomedans, 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FORREST.  119 

supposed  to  be  the  descendants  of  those  who  were 
driven  from  Spain  in  the  fifteenth  century.  Mixed  as 
the  inhabitants  are,  with  a  large  sprinkling  of  Jews,  the 
dread  of  Emer-el-Moomeneen,  Lord  of  the  true  believ 
ers,  keeps  them  in  fear  and  awe.  This  sovereign,  or 
Sultan,  possesses  absolute  power;  from  him  proceed 
the  laws — the  lives  and  properties  of  his  subjects  are  at 
his  disposal. 

Somehow  Forrest  tamed  this  mighty  monarch — we 
never  learned  how.  They  became  friends,  and  during 
his  sojourn  at  his  court  he  was  treated  with  marked 
attention.  When  he  left  he  was  presented  with  a 
splendid  Arabian  stallion.  A  portrait  of  this  animal, 
painted  by  a  French  artist  in  Paris,  has  ever  since 
hung  in  the  art  gallery  of  Mr.  Forrest's  mansion.  Mr. 
Forrest  gave  me  a  very  interesting  account  of  how  this 
artist  came  to  paint  this  portrait  for  him. 

One  day  just  as  he  came  out  of  his  hotel  in  Paris,  a 
thinly-clad  Frenchman  addressed  him:  "Monsieur 
Forrest,  I  would  speak  one  word  with  you.  I  saw  your 
grand  horse  in  the  stable — one  fine  animal — beautiful. 
I  am  a  painter  of  animals — horses  particularly.  I 
would  like  to  paint  him  for  you." 

Forrest  was  struck  with  the  appearance  of  the  man, 
and  deeming  it  an  act  of  charity,  he  consented,  and  told 
the  man  to  bring  the  picture  to  him  when  finished. 
Those  who  have  seen  this  portrait  of  the  horse  pro 
nounce  it,  as  we  do,  one  of  the  most  striking  life-like 
representations  of  an  animal  that  ever  appeared  on  can 
vas.  The  name  of  this  artist  was  told  us,  but  it  now 
escapes  our  memory.  He  subsequently,  however,  be 
came  distinguished  in  Paris  as  one  of  the  best  animal 
painters  of  the  day. 


120  LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FOEEEST. 

FORREST    IN    ROME. 

"This  old  city,"  says  a  writer,  "has  a  never-ending 
history.  One  may  study  the  old  Koman  Kepublic  in 
its  ruins  for  years ;  to  master  the  remains  of  the  Koman 
Empire  requires  a  less  time.  A  long  period  may  be 
employed  in  unearthing  the  vestiges  of  medieval  and 
the  early  Papal  Home,  and  now  in  this  latter  day  Korne 
promises  us  a  new  history,  perhaps  as  interesting — per 
haps  as  useful  as  the  one  of  old."  Two  thousand  years 
from  the  dawn  of  light  to  our  day  lie  recorded  on  the 
stones  and  the  dust  of  the  noble  city. 

How  different  is  Kome  now  from  what  it  was  when 
the  great  actor  walked  through  the  halls  of  the  Vati 
can  !  The  might  of  Kome  then  was  in  the  kingly  rule 
of  the  Pope.  All  powerful,  both  temporal  as  well  as 
spiritual — the  one  omniscience  of  Kome  as  the  great 
Omnipotent  is  of  Heaven  and  earth  ;  he  made  his  in 
fallibility  his  sceptre,  and  his  power  his  diadem.  Such 
was  the  Pope  when  Forrest  visited  Kome.  Let  us  go 
with  him  to 

THE    VATICAN. 

The  Vatican,  the  winter  residence  of  the  Pope,  the 
largest  palace  in  Europe,  attracted  much  of  Mr.  For 
rest's  attention.  This  splendid  palace  contains  four 
thousand  four  hundred  and  twenty-two  halls  and  gal 
leries,  filled  with  the  treasures  of  ancient  and  modern 
art.  The  library  is  one  of  the  largest  and  richest  in  the 
world.  The  picture  gallery,  containing  a  collection 
which,  though  small  in  extent — there  being  not  more 
than  fifty — is  unsurpassed  in  real  value.  This  museum, 
consisting  of  a  series  of  galleries  in  which  the  noblest 
treasures  of  art  are  contained,  including,  among  other 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FOEEEST.  121 

rare  works,  the  Laocoon  and  Apollo  Belvidere.  Mr. 
Forrest  spent  several  days  here,  examining,  admiring, 
wondering,  and  at  last  realizing  the  fact  that  here,  in 
deed,  the  gems  of  true  art  can  be  seen.  One  of  the 
pictures — we  think  it  was  "  The  Transfiguration,"  by 
Kaphael — in  the  gallery  alluded  to,  attracted  his  atten 
tion  particularly.  He  asked  a  priest  who  had  paid  him 
marked  attention,  and  who  was  also  aware  of  his  visi 
tor's  profession,  which  made  no  difference  in  his  man 
ner,  if  "there  was  any  price  attached  to  that  picture?" 
The  priest  looked  up  in  some  surprise,  saying  :  "  Your 
State,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  rich  State — it  has  inexhaust 
ible  coal  and  iron  mines — it  has  canals,  railroads,  and 
large  cities  —  numerous  towns  and  villages,  public 
buildings,  colleges,  and  other  institutions  of  learning — 
rich  in  all  that  industry  accumulates  and  munificence 
can  furnish/' 

"Well,"  said  Forrest,  "  Pennsylvania  is  a  rich 
State,  what  of  that  ?  " 

The  priest  replied,  "It  does  not  contain  wealth 
enough  to  purchase  that  picture." 

"  Indeed  ! "  exclaimed  the  astonished  actor  ;  "  then 
my  dear  sir,  if  Kome  should  ever  become  impoverished 
we  will  try  to  arrange  with  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
for  its  purchase." 

The  priest  looked  up ;  he  saw  at  once  the  actor,  like 
himself,  was  playing  a  part.  Forrest  was  no  great 
friend  to  priest-craft,  nor  had  any  sympathy  with 
Catholics  or  their  religion. 

CASTLE    OF    ST.  ANGELO. 

On  another  occasion,  in  company  with  several  gen 
tlemen,  Forrest  visited  the  castle  of  "St.  Angelo." 


122  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEKEST. 

Originally  it  was  called  the  Mausoleum  of  Hadrian,  a 
rounded  pyramid  of  white  marble.  For  awhile  they 
stood  entranced,  so  much  to  see — so  much  to  admire 
and  comment  upon.  All  around  them  were  the  traces 
of  former  greatness.  Home,  with  its  majestic  ruins — 
Kome,  in  the  solemn  grandeur  of  its  churches  and  pal 
aces — Kome,  with  its  endless  treasures — Borne,  with 
its  church  of  St.  Peter's,  built  at  the  expense  of  the 
whole  Koman  world — Kome,  the  glory  of  modern  archi 
tecture — loomed  up  before  them.  The  Pantheon,  the 
most  splendid  edifice  of  ancient  Kome — the  Vatican, 
the  palace  of  the  Pope — all  these  were  more  or  less 
visible  to  the  eye  as  they  stood  gazing  in  wonder  and 
awe. 

In  one  of  the  pauses  of  their  conversation  a  voice 
came  up  from  behind  a  ruined  column,  bearing  upon 
its  surface  the  impress  of  ages,  saying,  "Mr.  Forrest, 
have  you  been  to  see  the  ruins  of  the  Coliseum  ?  " 

Forrest  turned  around  at  these  words  to  see  from 
whom  they  proceeded.  There  lying  at  full  length 
on  another  pillar  lay  a  young  man,  whom  none  of  the 
party  knew.  He  went  on:  "  It  is  a  splendid  ruin,  sir. 
They  say  it  held  one  hundred  thousand  people." 

"  You  know  me,  it  seems  ?  "  said  Forrest. 

"  Know  you  ?  Why  certainly;  don't  you  remem 
ber  Delarue?  I  played  Kichard  III.  at  the  Walnut 
Street  Theatre,  in  imitation  of  Mr.  Booth." 

"  What !  you  here  ?  Get  up,  man,  and  let  me  have 
a  good  look  at  you." 

Up  jumped  the  eccentric  individual,  and  as  he 
stood  before  the  group,  he  appeared  a  fac-similie  of 
the  great  tragedian  he  could  imitate  so  admirably. 

We  remember  Delarue  well.     Had  his  mind  been 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FOKEEST.  123 

as  well  balanced  as  were  his  powers  of  imitation,  he 
would  have  been  an  actor  of  no  common  order.  He 
was  eccentric,  and  idle.  How  he  ever  reached  Eome  is 
still  a  mystery — how  he  got  away,  we  have  every  rea 
son  to  believe,  was  owing  to  the  group  who  surrounded 
him  on  that  occasion. 

IMarue  made  his  first  appearance  on  the  stage  at 
the  Chestnut  Street  Theatre  in  1827,  as  Sylvester  Dag- 
gerwood,  in  which  he  gave  imitations  of  the  leading 
actors  of  the  day  with  great  fidelity.  What  became 
of  him  we  know  not.  The  last  we  heard  of  him.  was  in 
1852 ;  he  was  then  living  in  New  York. 

Mr.  Forrest's  European  tour  will  probably  be  found 
among  his  papers,  written  by  himself.  We  know  he 
had  made  notes  of  his  travels,  but,  as  he  stated  to  us, 
they  were  simply  memorandums.  We  have  alluded, 
en  passant,  to  many  places  he  visited.  His  visit  to 
the  tomb  of  Shakespeare  forms  an  important  place  in 
his  notes,  and  connects  him  with  the  bard  as  one  of  his 
most  ardent  admirers  and  the  representative  of  the  im 
mortal  heroes  of  the  tragic  muse  !  Mr.  Forrest  met 
with  some  of  the  most  gifted  gentlemen  of  Europe, 
with  whom  he  conversed  and  became  their  honored 
guest.  He  came  home  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  poe 
try,  romance  and  history.  The  drama  appeared  to  him 
as  the  great  link  connecting  the  past  with  the  present, 
in  which  the  actor  became  the  medium  of  conveying  to 
the  latter  the  likeness  of  the  great  men  who  flourished, 
died,  and  would  have  been  forgotten,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  actor.  His  mind  was  enriched  by  foreign  study 
and  observation,  and  to  the  last  hour  of  his  life  he  had 
numerous  anecdotes  to  relate  and  pleasing  instances  to 
record. 


124  LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FOKEEST. 

If  you  spoke  to  him  of  Greece  and  Rome,  their  an 
cient  history,  and  ruined  grandeur,  he  would  describe 
to  you  the  temple  of  Theseus,  and  the  glorious  Parthe 
non,  perched  aloft  on  the  rocky  Acropolis.  He  would 
carry  you  away  with  him  over  the  bridge  beyond  Ceph- 
isus,  and  down  the  high  road  into  the  shady  walks  of 
the  grove  of  Academus,  where  Plato,  the  pupil  of  Soc 
rates,  introduced  his  disciples,  maintaining  the  immor 
tality  of  the  soul.  He  would  tell  you  of  the  altar  of 
the  Muses,  whose  votaries  may  in  some  degree  be  said 
to  hallow  literature  with  a  divine  sanction.  Yonder 
to  the  east,  near  the  Marathon  road,  he  would  point  out 
to  you  on  the  map,  the  Cynosarges,  or  school  of  the 
cynic  philosophers ;  near  the  gate  of  the  Pirseus  is  the 
Museum,  a  building  dedicated  to  the  liberal  arts,  and 
to  the  G-oddess  whose  name  it  bears.  The  superb  struc 
ture  to  the  left  is  the  Odeum,  beyond  it  is  the  Lyceum 
where  Aristotle  instructed  his  disciples.  The  build 
ing  on  the  left  of  the  Odeum  is  the  Great  Theatre,  to 
which  the  Athenians  nocked  to  weep  at  the  tragedies 
of  ^Eschylus,  Sophocles  and  Euripides,  to  be  convulsed 
with  laughter  at  the  farcical  satires  of  Aristophanes, 
or  to  be  delighted  with  the  polished  wit  of  the  chaste 
and  elegant  Meander. 

To  such  a  mind  as  that  of  Mr.  Forrest's,  were  not 
these  scenes  now  but  the  debris  of  former  grandeur, 
sufficient  to  interest  and  impress  upon  it  the  glorious 
age  wherever  the  classic  Muses  revelled  as  it  were,  in 
the  Elysium  of  fabled  gods  ? 


CHAPTER  X. 

FORREST'S   RETURN  FROM  HIS  EUROPEAN   TOUR. — HIS 

RECEPTION. APPEARS  AT  THE  CHESTNUT  STREET 

THEATRE. SPEECH. PARK  THEATRE,  N.  Y. FARE 
WELL  ENGAGEMENT. IMMENSE  SUCCESS. AD 
DRESSES  THE  AUDIENCE. HIS  DEPARTURE. AP 
PEARANCE  ON  THE  ENGLISH  STAGE. KINDLY 

RECEIVED. PUBLIC   DINNERS    TENDERED   HIM   BY 

THE  GARRICK  CLUB  ! — PRESENTS,  ETC. — HIS  MAR 
RIAGE. 

"A  /TR.  FORREST,  as  our  readers  are  aware,  did 
-L"-  not  appear  upon  the  stage  during  his  European 
pleasure  tour,  as  it  was  distinctly  understood  before  he 
left  the  country  that  it  was  not  his  intention  to  do  so. 
But  he  made  arrangements  to  play  there  in  October 
of  the  year  of  his  return  home. 

CHESTNUT    STREET    THEATRE. 

Mr.  Forrest's  first  appearance  in  Philadelphia,  af 
ter  his  return  from  his  delightful  journey,  was  on 
Monday,  September  5th,  1836.  He  opened  at  the 
Chestnut  Street  Theatre,  with  Damon,  and  probably 
since  the  days  of  Cooke  a  greater  rush  has  not  been 
known  at  our  theatres.  During  his  engagement  the 
orchestra  was  thrown  open  and  additional  space  given 
to  the  pit.  As  early  as  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
the  streets  in  the  vicinity  of  the  theatre  began  to  ex- 

(125) 


126  LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FORREST. 

hibit  the  gathering  of  the  populace,  and  long  before 
the  hour  of  opening — half-past  six  o'clock — the  whole 
of  Chestnut  Street  opposite  to  Old  Drury  was  nearly 
a  solid  mass  of  human  beings.  The  doors  were  opened 
with  great  caution,  and  much  care  was  taken  that  no 
rush  should  be  made  ;  but  so  anxious  were  the  people 
without  to  gain  admission  into  the  theatre,  that  hun 
dreds  became  wedged  together  so  immovably  that  they 
were  obliged  to  stand  and  swelter  with  the  patience  of 
martyrs.  Finally,  they  were  admitted,  only  to  make 
room  for  fresh  crowds.  Long  before  Damon  appeared 
in  character,  the  house  was  filled  to  overflowing,  not 
a  niche  nor  corner  being  vacant  from  pit  to  gallery. 
When  Damon  did  appear,  the  pit  and  boxes  rose  as 
one  man,  and  a  roar  of  welcome,  hoarse,  loud  and 
long,  echoed  through  the  theatre.  Ladies  waved  their 
handkerchiefs,  gentlemen  their  hats;  indeed,  to  such 
an  extent  was  this  carried,  that  the  Koman  signifi 
cation  of  ovation  could  not  apply  to  the  reception 
Mr.  Forrest  met  on  this  occasion.  The  actor  bowed 
and  bowed,  until  the  act  became  a  spectacle  of  dumb 
iteration.  At  last  order  was  restored ;  the  play  went 
on,  and  never  did  Forrest  perform  with  more  credit 
to  the  author  of  the  play  and  himself.  When  the 
curtain  fell,  the  calls  for  Forrest  were  loud  and  deafen 
ing;  he  appeared  and  bowed  again,  until  the  pit  and 
boxes,  which  were  alive  with  waving  handkerchiefs, 
were  stilled  into  a  temporary  calm.  He  said  : 

"  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  for  this  warm  peal  of  hearts 
and  hands  I  have  only  strength  to  say,  in  my  present  ex 
hausted  state,  I  thank  you.  It  has  served  to  convince 
me  of  the  grateful  truth  that  neither  time  nor  distance 
has  been  able  to  alienate  from  me  your  kind  regards.  I 
aia  unable  to  speak  what  I  wish;  but  I  can  sincerely  de 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORREST.  127 

clare  that  you  make  me  proud  this  evening.  And  the  re 
membrance  of  this  cordial  greeting,  after  no  common 
absence — given  to  me  here,  in  this  city  of  my  birth  and 
my  affections — shall  go  down  with  me,  to  my  latest  hour, 
as  one  of  the  happiest  scenes  of  my  professional  life." 

On  Tuesday,  he  played  Othello,  and  Spartacus  on 
Wednesday,  which  character  he  repeated  on  Thursday. 
On  Friday  evening  he  took  his  farewell  benefit,  play 
ing  Spartacus.  The  house  was  literally  crammed';  in 
deed,  there  was  no  diminution  of  numbers  during  his 
whole  engagement.  A  considerable  trade  was  carried 
on  in  tickets  outside  of  the  theatre,  which  had  been 
obtained  at  the  risk  of  broken  limbs. 

He  immediately  repaired  to  New  York,  to  finish  an 
engagement  there,  and  played  every  night  up  to  the 
15th  of  September,  to  overwhelming  houses.  He  re 
ceived  $500  per  night — notwithstanding  which  the 
manager  must  have  cleared  $1000  each  night.  The  New 
York  Spirit  of  the  Times  said :  "A  raft  of  tickets 
were  bought  by  a  speculator  for  the  few  last  per 
formances  and  sold  at  auction  at  fifty  per  cent,  profit. 
Mr.  Forrest  has  appeared  as  Damon,  Othello,  Spartacus, 
and  Lear,  and  never  to  such  manifest  advantage. 
We  have  no  doubt  of  his  triumphant  success  in 
London  as  the  first  tragedian  of  the  age." 

Mr.  Forrest  bade  farewell  to  his  countrymen  at  the 
Park  Theatre,  in  Othello.  The  house  was  crowded  to  the 
ceiling,  and  would  have  been  uncomfortably  crammed 
with  hundreds  more,  had  not  many  been,  fortunately  for 
those  who  were  present,  deterred  from  coming  by  the 
advanced  prices  at  which  numbers  of  tickets  were 
purchased  on  speculation,  which  led  to  the  belief  that 
there  would  be  no  room.  Some  of  the  box  tickets 


128  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

were  sold  at  auction,  and  brought  the  enormous  price 
of  twenty-five  dollars  each.  Mr.  Forrest's  acting  was 
powerful  and  finished.  At  the  close  he  was  called  out, 
and  addressed  the  audience  in  his  usual  felicitous  man 
ner — spoke  of  his  being  content  to  repose  on  the  good 
opinion  of  his  countrymen,  but  that  the  solicitations  to 
appear  at  Covent  Garden  were  too  flattering  not  to 
comply  with  them,  and  which  he  wished  more  par 
ticularly,  to  accept,  to  show  that  he  believed  that  an 
English  audience  will  receive  with  a  cordial  welcome 
an  American  actor.  "  They  will,"  cried  an  honest 
John  Bull.  "  I'm  sure  they  will,"  replied  Mr.  Forrest, 
very  happily.  Thunders  of  applause  followed.  He 
alluded  to  the  kind  reception  he  had  met  with  in  his 
debut,  when  a  youth,  before  a  New  York  audience,  in 
the  part  he  had  just  performed ;  spoke  of  the  effect 
that  this  had  had  on  his  ambition,  and  that  their  ap 
probation  had  stamped  him  as  an  actor.  He  bade  an 
affectionate  farewell,  and  the  audience,  amidst  the 
waving  of  handkerchiefs  from  the  ladies,  gave  six 
heartfelt  cheers  in  return. 

Mr.  Forrest,  in  the  speech,  alluded  to  his  appearing 
at  Covent  Garden.  The  following,  from  a  London 
paper,  explains  the  change  made  in  this  arrangement : 

MR.   FORREST  IK   ENGLAND. 

"We  were  as  convinced  as  of  our  political  existence,  that 
Mr.  Willis  Jones  would  have  nothing  whatever  to  do 
with  Covent  Garden  Theatre.  We  stated  this  in  the 
most  positive  manner  on  Sunday  last,  and  we  arc  now 
enabled  to  confirm  it.  At  the  same  time,  when  we  pub 
lished  this  prediction,  or  rather  assertion,  we  had  no  idea 
that  Mr.  Jones  was  intent  upon  having  an  interest  in  one 
or  the  other  of  the  two  large  theatres,  and  certainly  not 
that  there  was  any  likelihood  of  his  vesting  such  interest 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FORREST.  129 

in  Drtiry  Lane.  The  simple  fact  turns  out  that  Bunn  has 
completely  jockeyed  Osbaldiston,  and  has  secured  to  him 
self  one  of  the  greatest  cards  that  has  lately  been  played 
in  London.  Mr.  Willis  Jones,  having  some  time  since 
entered  into  a  compact  with  the  celebrated  American 
tragedian,  Mr.  Forrest,  to  produce  him  on  one  of  the 
principal  London  theatres,  together  with  the  original 
plays  in  which  he  has  made  so  great  a  hit  in  transatlantic 
lauds,  has  entered  into  an  arrangement  with  Bunn  for 
the  use  of  Drury  Lane  Theatre  for  such  purposes ;  and 
in  the  event  of  Mr.  Forrest  making  the  hit  in  London 
which  is  so  fully  anticipated,  Mr.  Jones  is  empowered  to 
have  a  given  number  of  nights  throughout  the  season  for 
the  purpose  of  exhibiting  Mr.  Forrest  in  the  range  of  his 
principal  characters.  We  do  not  know,  and  have  no  de 
sire  to  inquire  into  the  pecuniary  arrangements  between 
Bunn  and  Willis  Jones ;  but  we  hear  they  are  extremely 
liberal  on  both  sides,  and  will  no  doubt  end  in  ample 
remuneration  to  all  parties  concerned. 

"  From  every  report  we  have  heard,  Mr.  Forrest  is  a 
young  man  of  most  extraordinary  abilities,  and  by  the 
exercise  of  them  has  already,  amassed  a  large  fortune  in 
his  native  country.  He  is  stated  to  possess  a  noble  figure, 
and  considered  one  of  the  finest  men  that  has  ever  ap 
peared  on  the  stage,  being  gifted  with  a  powerful  mind 
and  every  possible  requisite  for  his  profession.  The 
1  hiatus  histrionicus,'  left  by  the  death  of  Kean  and  the  re 
tirement  of  Young,  is  therefore  at  length  likely  to  be 
filled  up,  and  the  play-goer  no  longer  be  subjected  to 
the  tricky  attempts  or  drowsy  fulminations  of  the  brace 
of  bravoes  who  have  lately  been  sickening  him  on  the 
boards  of  Covent  Garden." 

The  following  account  of  Mr.  Forrest's  appearance 
on  the  English  stage,  is  from  the  London  Chronicle  of 
the  17th  of  October,  1836. 

"  Mr.  Edwin  Forrest,  the  eminent  American  tragedian, 
whose  first  appearance,  last  evening,  on  the  British  stage 
(before  one  of  the  most  crowded  audiences  ever  assembled 
in  any  theatre),  elicited  those  enthusiastic  testimonials  of 
success  which  have  stamped  him.  one  of  the  greatest  actors 


130  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

that  ever  graced  the  English  theatre,  will,  in  consequence 
of  the  unbounded  applause  with  which  he  was  received 
in  the  new  tragedy  of  the  Gladiator,  have  the  honor  of  re 
peating  the  character  of  Spartacus,  three  times  every  week 
until  further  notice. 

"  When  Mr.  Forrest  opened  in  England,  at  the  Theatre 
Royal,  Drury  Lane,  on  the  evening  of  October  17th,  1836, 
as  an  American  actor  in  an  American  play,  it  was  under 
circumstances  particularly  favorable.  We  had  been  puff 
ing  third,  fourth  and  fifth  rate  actors  here,  and  sending 
them  back  loaded  with  gold;  and  it  would  have  certainly 
been  very  strange  if  they,  in  return,  prejudice  aside,  could 
not  receive  one  favorably  from  this  country.  Indeed,  his 
triumph  was  great ;  and,  as  a  matter  of  history,  we  furnish 
a  few  items  attending  his  advent  upon  the  British  stage. 
The  writer,  after  giving  an  account  of  the  opening,  etc., 
says : 

" '  On  his  entree,  the  whole  house  rose  and  gave  him 
three  times  three.  The  applause  lasted  three  or  four  min 
utes,  and  what,  with  hands  and  hearts,  the  waving  of  ker 
chiefs  by  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  in  all  the  private  boxes 
and  the  dress  circles,  and  the  spontaneous  burst  of  enthusi 
asm,  his  reception  was  more  nattering  than  his  most  san 
guine  friends  could  have  anticipated.  On  being  called 
for  at  the  close  of  the  play,  the  applause  was  truly  deaf 
ening.  He  repeats  the  character  three  times  a  week,  until 
further  notice.  Victory  sits  perched  upon  his  beaver, 
and  he  must  and  will  support  her  without  losing  a  single 
feather.' " 

The  play  was  Dr.  Bird's  Gladiator,  which  was  not 
received,  however,  with  the  same  warmth  by  the  audi 
ence  as  was  the  actor.  Another  paper,  speaking  of  the 
debut,  says  : 

"  His  reception  was  enthusiastic,  and  had  he  failed,  he 
could  not  have  attributed  the  misfortune  to  coldness  of  re 
ception.  He  was  greeted  from  all  parts  of  a  very  full 
house.  He  did  not  fail.  He  was  eminently  successful,  and 
the  impression  produced  by  him  in  Spartacus,  was  such 
that  we  doubt  whether  the  same  character  could  be  safely 
ventured  upon  by  any  other  man  now  upon  the  stage,  at 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  131 

least  in  presence  of  the  audience  which  witnessed  the  per 
formance  that  night." 

Another  says : 

"  Mr.  Forrest's  reception  on  his  arrival  was  the  most 
flattering.  He  has  been  sought  after  by  men  whose  kindly 
attention  cannot  be  otherwise  than  gratifying  to  his  pride, 
and  the  numerous  acts  of  courtesy  and  hospitality  be 
stowed  upon  him,  were  calculated  speedily  to  remove  the 
impression  from  his  mind  that  he  was  a  stranger  in  a 
strange  land." 

We  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  more  particularly 
of  Mr.  Forrest's  reception  in  London,  when  we  come  to 
his  third  visit,  and  his  second  engagement.  He  star 
tled  the  "John  Bulls"  by  his  masterly  delineations  of 
Othello  and  Lear,  and  his  Gladiator  opened  to  their 
view  in  the  drama's  perspective  another  phase  in 
classic  literature.  Charles  Kean,  that  miserable  speci 
men  of  English  mendacity,  jealous  of  Forrest's  tri 
umphs,  had  attempted  to  lessen  his  fame  by  retailing 
his  petty  spite  to  the  "penny-a-liners"  of  the  London 
press.  A  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Evening 
Star,  writing  home,  said : 

"Forrest's  success  has  been  unprecedented.  When  I 
last  wrote  he  had  only  appeared  as  Spartacus,  and  I 
doubted,  to  confess  the  truth,  whether  he  had  mind 
enough  to  play  more  intellectual  characters.  Charles  Keau 
led  me  into  the  mistake,  by  speaking  of  Mr.  Forrest  as  a 
'giant — one  who  could  throw  a  man  across  the  stage' — and 
I  was  led  to  think  that  he  had  more  muscle  than  genius. 
But  his  Othello  is  considered  the  finest  thing  that  was  ever 
witnessed  on  the  British  stage.  The  Athenixum  (no  mean 
authority,)  places  it  far  above  Kean's,  (I  mean  the  Kean, 
not  the  boy  imitator,)  and  the  Atlas,  fastidious  to  a  fault 
in  dramatics  and  letters,  says  'If  we  observe  that,  since  the 
days  of  Kean,  we  have  had  no  actor  capable  of  approach 
ing  his  excellence,  and  that  in  many  parts  Mr.  Forrest  was 


132  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

equal,  and  in  some  few  superior  to  that  great  tragedian,  we 
shall  have  discharged  all  that  we  desire  to  say  on  that 
point.' " 

One  of  their  own  critics  said,  in  speaking  of  his 
Othello : 

"  The  first  scene  between  Othello  and  lago  was  played 
by  Mr.  Forrest  in  a  subdued  tone,  to  which  our  actors  have 
not  accustomed  us.  Slow  to  suspect,  Othello  hovers  over 
the  abyss  before  he  takes  the  fatal  plunge.  Mr.  Forrest 
embodied  this  view  of  the  opening  of  the  temptation  with 
great  skill.  Through  the  terrible  scenes  that  follow  he 
rose  to  a  height  of  grandeur  which  places  him  at  the  head 
of  living  actors  in  England.  In  one  particular  passage  he 
drew  down  an  expression  of  admiration,  such  as  we  have 
seldom  before  witnessed  in  a  London  theatre.  The  passage 
to  which  we  allude  is  that  beginning  or  rather  ending  with 

" '  I  had  rather  be  a  toad, 
And  li ve  upon  the  vapors  of  a  dungeon,'  etc. 

"  The  look  of  ghastly  horror  with  which  the  utterance  of 
this  passage  was  accompanied  electrified  the  audience,  who 
rising  in  all  parts  of  the  house,  continued  for  several  min 
utes  to  greet  the  performer  with  most  enthusiastic  ap 
plause." 

His  King  Lear  was  considered  the  best  witnessed 
since  the  great  Grarrick  and  Cooke  had  made  it  their 
speciality. 

These  criticisms  gave  offence  to  the  once  prejudiced 
Englishmen,  and  laid  the  foundation  for  a  determined 
opposition  to  everything  that  was  calculated  to  pale 
the  lustre  of  their  own  stars.  Lesser  ones  had  leave  to 
shine — greater  ones  must  be  put  out. 

During  this  visit  Mr.  Forrest  was  not  only  highly 
honored,  but  for  awhile  became  quite  a  lion  in  London. 

The  Garrick  club  gave  him  a  dinner,  at  which  Ser 
geant  Talfourd,  the  author  of  Ion,  presided.  From 
Charles  Keinble  and  Stephen  Price  he  received  three 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FORREST.  133 

swords,  once  severally  the  property  of  John  Kemble, 
Kean,  and  Talma.  An  original  portrait  in  oil,  of  Grar- 
rick,  was  presented  to  him,  and  his  own,  in  the  character 
of  Macbeth  in  the  dagger  scene,  was  exhibited  at  the 
Somerset  House. 

During  this  visit  (1837)  he  married  Miss  Catharine 
Sinclair,  daughter  of  John  Sinclair,  the  well  known  vo 
calist.  Had  the  tragedian  foreseen  the  cloud  that  was 
to  darken  his  latter  days  beyond  the  fair  vision  that 
stood  blushing  beside  him  at  the  altar,  he  would  have 
hesitated  even  there.  But  all  was  sunshine  then,  and 
the  future  to  him  was  a  sealed  book.  Better,  far  better 
would  it  have  been  had  he  won  the  Swiss  maiden  who 
crossed  his  path  on  one  of  the  mountain  slopes  of  that 
fair  land,  instead  of  the  beautiful  and  accomplished 
daughter  of  England  !  But — 

"  There's  a  divinity  that  shapes  our  ends, 
Rou<?h  hew  them  how  we  will." 


CHAPTER  XI. 

OTHELLO. — ITS      ORIGINAL     PLOT. — NOTED     ACTORS     IN 

THE  PART. FIRST  OTHELLO   IN   THIS   COUNTRY. 

MR.  FORREST'S  CONCEPTION  OF  THE  CHARACTER. — 

SIGNOR     SALVINI     COMPARED    WITH     FORREST. — AN 
ITALIAN   VERSION. 

IN  the  last  chapter  we  left  Mr.  Forrest  enjoying  all 
the  honors  heaped  upon  him  by  a  people's  unbi 
assed  opinion  of  his   histrionic  abilities,  and  having 
also  taken  a  part  in  a  comedy  entitled  The  Honey 
moon,  to  conclude  with  the  play  of  The  Stranger,  in 


134  LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FORREST. 

which  the  lady  was  accused  of  playing  Mrs.  Haller  in 
private  life.  Leaving  Mr.  Forrest  for  a  while  in  his 
domestic  difficulties,  acting  a  part  so  entirely  out  of 
his  line,  we  will  speak  further  of  him  in  tragedy — the 
tragedy  of  the  "mimic  stage"  of  life,  in  which  his 
nohle  nature  in  the  character  of  the  Moor  found  the 
counterpart  of  Consuelo  in  the  character  of  lago. 

OTHELLO. 

Giovanni  Giralda  Cynthio's  Hecatommithi  contains 
the  original  story  of  this  tragedy,  but  no  English  ver 
sion  of  the  work  of  the  time  of  Shakespeare  has  yet 
been  discovered,  though  an  imperfect  French  transla 
tion,  by  Grabriel  Chappuys,  was  published  at  Paris  in 
1584.  Malone  originally  assigned  1611,  Chaining, 
1614,  and  Dr.  Drake,  1612,  as  the  date  of  the  compo 
sition  of  this  tragedy.  Malone  subsequently  altered 
his  time  to  1604,  affirming  that  the  play  was  acted 
that  year. 

Vertue's  MSS.  shows,  however,  that  it  was  performed 
at  court  before  James  I.,  1613,  but  it  is  supposed  that 
Shakespeare  derived  Othello's  simile  of  the  never-ebb 
ing  current  of  the  Pontick  Sea,  Act  III.,  Scene  3,  from 
Dr.  Philomon  Holland's  translation  of  Pliny's  Natural 
History,  London,  1601,  folio  book  II.,  Chapter  97. 

Othello  was  entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  October 
16th,  1621,  and  appeared  in  quarto  in  the  year  follow 
ing,  but  there  are  many  minute  differences  between  this 
edition  and  the  folio  of  1623. 

For  the  first  act  of  this  play  the  scene  lies  in  Venice, 
but  during  the  remainder  at  a  seaport  in  the  Isle  of 
Cyprus,  and  a  few  days  appeared  to  include  all  the 
action. 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEREST.  135 

For  the  historical  period,  Solyman  II.  formed  his 
design  against  Cyprus  in  1569,  and  captured  it  in  1571, 
which  being  the  only  attempt  that  the  Turks  ever 
made  upon  the  Island  after  it  came  into  the  Venetian 
powers  in  1473,  the  circumstances  must  be  placed  in 
some  part  of  the  interval. 

The  play  relates — Act  I.,  Scene  3 — that  there  was 
a  junction  of  the  Turkish  fleet  at  Khodes,  for  the  inva 
sion  of  Cyprus,  to  which  it  was  first  sailing ;  then  it 
returned  to  Rhodes  ;  and  then,  meeting  another  squad 
ron,  resumed  its  way  to  Cyprus.  The  real  date,  there 
fore,  is  May  1570,  when  Mustapha,  the  general  of  Soly 
man,  attacked  the  Island. 

This  tragedy  was  originally  performed  at  the  Globe 
and  Black-Friars'  Theatres,  Othello  and  lago  being 
played  by  Burbage  and  Taylor.  Spranger  Barry  is 
said  to  have  made  the  finest  Moor  on  the  stage ;  and 
he  was  also  admirably  supported  by  his  wife,  formerly 
Mrs.  Dancer,  whom  he  taught  to  perform  Desdemona. 
The  other  most  eminent  actors  in  the  principal  parts 
have  been  Betterton,  Booth,  Garrick,  Henderson,  Cooke, 
Young  and  Kean ;  and  Mr.  C.  Kemble  as  Cassio. 
The  modern  alteration  of  Othello  was  produced  by  J. 
P.  Kemble,  at  Covent  Garden  in  1804,  for  which  house 
Mr.  J.  E.  Planche  published  a  series  of  accurate  histor 
ical  costumes  in  1825. 

The  first  performances  of  Othello  in  this  country 
was  at  the  "  Theatre"  in  Nassau  street,  New  York,  De 
cember  23rd,  1751 ;  Othello,  Mr.  Upton.  This  man  was 
an  Englishman,  and  the  treacherous  agent  of  Hallam, 
who  had  sent  him  over  from  London  in  advance,  to 
make  arrangements  for  the  company.  He  cheated  his 
employers,  and  endeavored  to  palm  himself  off  as  an 


136  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORREST. 

actor,  but  failed  most  signally.  Its  second  representa 
tion  was  on  the  llth  of  April,  1767,  at  the  John 
Street  Theatre,  New  York.  Othello,  Mr.  Douglass; 
Desdemona,  Miss  Cheer. 

Othello,  like  Lear,  seems  to  have  been  studiously 
avoided  by  the  pioneers  of  the  drama  in  this  country. 
Mr.  John  Henry  was  the  first  great  representative  in 
the  part,  although  not  the  first  who  essayed  it.  Dun- 
lap  says  :  "  Mr.  Henry  was  full  six  feet  in  height,  and 
had  been  uncommonly  handsome.  He  played  Othello 
better,  we  believe,  than  any  man  had  done  before  him 
in  America."  It  is  also  recorded  of  him  that  he  wore 
the  uniform  of  a  British  officer,  his  face  black  and  hair 
woolly.  This  must  not  appear  strange,  however  im 
proper,  for  Dunlap  says  :  "  When  the  writer  saw  John 
Kemble,  in  1786,  play  the  Moor,  he  wore  a  suit  of 
modern  military  of  scarlet  and  gold  lace — coat,  waist 
coat  and  breeches.  He  wore  white  silk  stockings,  his 
face  was  black,  and  his  hair  long  and  black,  cued  in  the 
military  fashion  of  the  day." 

Heretofore  it  has  been  an  invariable  custom  to 
dress  him  as  an  Ottomite.  The  custom  of  Venice 
should  be  preserved  in  all  its  details.  Painters,  de 
signers  and  actors  have  differed  from  one  another  very 
widely  in  relation  to  the  costume  of  Othello.  There 
can  be  but  one  opinion  upon  this  point,  for  Vicillo,  a 
contemporary  of  Shakespeare,  describes  the  dress  of  the 
Venetian  General,  as  follows  :  "  Gown  of  crimson  velvet, 
with  loose  sleeves,  over  which  was  a  mantle  cloth  of 
gold,  buttoned  over  the  shoulder,  with  massive  gold  but 
tons.  His  cap  was  of  crimson  velvet,  and  he  bore  a 
silver  baton,  like  those  which  are  still  the  official  des 
ignations  of  the  field  marshals  of  Europe." 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKREST.  137 

Othello,  according  to  Venetian  laws,  predicated  on 
motives  of  policy,  could  not  hold  this  office  unless  he 
was  a  Christian  by  profession ;  he  must  have  assumed 
the  appropriate  costume  as  much  as  if  he  had  been  a 
Frenchman,  a  German  or  a  Neapolitan.  Would  the 
Catholic  Church,  at  that  period  paramount  in  all  things, 
have  permitted  a  turbaned  Turk,  an  Ottomite,  to  lead 
their  armies  ?  Would  Christian  knights  and  gentle 
men,  jealous  of  their  honor  and  religion,  have  served 
under  a  Mahommedan  ?  Othello  himself  says  : 

"  Are  wo  turned  Turks,  and  to  ourselves  do  that 
Which  Heaven  hath  forbid  the  Ottomites  ? 
For  Christian  shame ! " 

'  In  Aleppo  once 


Where  a  malignant  and  turban'd  Turk 

Beat  a  Venetian, 

I  took  by  the  throat,"  etc. 

James  Fennell,  when  he  came  to  this  country  in 
1793,  brought  with  him  the  reputation  of  being  the 
best  Othello  on  the  English  stage.  Cooper,  Conway, 
and  in  fact  the  most  eminent  tragedians  of  the  day, 
made  it  one  of  their  studies.  As  regards  the  dressing 
of  the  part,  and  the  color  of  Othello's  skin,  there  can 
not  be  a  question  of  doubt  if  the  author  is  strictly  ad 
hered  to.  Othello  was  unquestionably  one  of  the  most 
noble  and  accomplished  of  the  negro  race.  Such  Shake 
speare  makes  him ;  and  all  the  saponaceous  compounds 
that  ever  emanated  from  a  "  critic's  brain"  cannot  wash 
that  color  out.  If  the  Moor  had  been  one  of  the  proud 
race  of  the  Ommacides,  and  the  Abbasides,  as  is  con 
tended,  it  would  not  have  affected  his  social  position  or 
debarred  him  from  being  received  on  a  social  footing 
with  the  proudest  of  the  Venetian  republic.  But  such 
was  not  the  case,  as  the  very  language  and  words  of 


138  LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FOKEEST. 

Shakespeare  prove.  Messrs.  Fennell>  Henry,  Cooper, 
Conway,  and  others  of  lesser  note,  up  to  a  certain 
period,  painted  him  black.  Subsequently,  more  from 
local  causes  than  a  critical  analysis  of  the  character, 
the  color  of  Othello's  skin  was  changed  to  that  of  the 
Mulatto,  or  rather  the  Quadroon.  Mr.  Forrest  con 
formed  to  the  "custom  of  the  country,"  and  made  him 
one  of  the  mixed  breed.  Mr.  Forrest's  Othello  was, 
however,  a  living  portraiture  of  the  noble  Moor's  mind, 
power  and  intellect ;  it  was  grand  in  conception  and 
powerful  in  rendition.  Gradually  from  the  excess  of 
his  love — gradually  to  the  first  instillation  of  lago's 
poison  into  his  brain — does  Othello  rise  up  grandly 
before  us.  From  the  moment,  a  flash,  as  if  it  were 
from  hell,  darts  across  his  mind,  revealing  as  he  im 
agines  the  guilt  of  Desdemona,  he  becomes  the  incarna 
tion  of  that 

G-reen-eyed  monster 


Which  doth  make  the  meat  it  feeds  on." 

He  towers  in  crime,  he  grasps  the  reins  of  passion  and 
drives  on  furiously  to  his  own  destruction  ! 

Othello  is  a  character  that  chiefly  depends  upon  the 
actor  to  invest  it  with  a  living  truth,  for  it  "lays  siege" 
to  the  bosom,  while  Kichard  and  Macbeth,  to  the  head. 
The  first  agitates,  softens  and  subdues  the  heart ;  the 
others  elevate  and  astonish  the  imagination.  Thomas 
A.  Cooper  and  Edwin  Forrest  were  the  only  two  actors 
whose  impersonations  of  these  three  characters  struck 
us  as  being  truthful  to  nature  and  art. 

Mr.  Forrest's  great  forte  in  tragedy  was  his  forcible 
delineation  of  the  deep  and  terrible  passions  of  the  soul, 
and  perhaps  of  this,  Othello  affords  the  most  striking 
illustration.  His  exhibition  of  what  was  majestic  and 


LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  13Q 

beautiful  in  sentiment,  when  connected  with  the 
powerful  influences  exercised  by  feeling,  were  always 
considered  by  critics  as  being  impossible  for  any  one 
to  equal.  He  stood  alone  the  "noblest  Koman  of 
them  all." 

In  his  Othello  we  recognized  the  great  master  of 
the  histrionic  art.  No  man — not  even  the  great  Kean 
himself,  or  the  cold,  mechanical  Macready — ever  uttered 
these  words  as  Mr.  Forrest  did,  conveying  in  the  fullest 
manner  to  the  audience  the  great  mental  strife  going 
on  within.  His  form  drooping,  limbs  powerless,  reason 
palsied,  he  seemed  as  if  life  itself  was  going  out  with 
each  word : 

;  0 !  now,  forever, 


Farewell  the  tranquil  mind  !  farewell  content ! 
Farewell  the  plumed  troop,  and  the  big1  wars 
That  make  ambition  virtue !     O  !  farewell ! 
Farewell  the  neighing  steed,  and  the  shrill  trump, 
The  spirit-stirring  drum,  the  ear-piercing  fife, 


Pride,  pomp,  and  circumstances  of  glorious  war ! 
*  -*  #  #  *  *  * 

Othello's  occupation's  gone." 

Our  readers  will  remember  how  Mr.  Forrest  ren 
dered  that  terrible  passage : 

I  had  rather  be  a  toad, 


And  live  upon  the  vapor  of  a  dungeon,"  etc. 

Forrest,  in  delineating  the  various  passions  which 
agitate  and  excite  the  jealous  Moor,  has  had  no  equal ; 
indeed,  few  actors  possess  the  physical  and  mental  pow 
ers  so  happily  blended,  as  did  this  great  artist,  so  as  to 
enable  them  to  give  full  force  to  language  requiring  the 
highest  order  of  genius  and  talent,  as  well  as  the  mas 
terly  touches  of  true  genius  combined — the  only  two 


140  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORREST. 

qualities  calculated  to  make  a  great  actor.  All  others 
have  failed.  During  Mr.  Forrest's  first  visit  to  Eng 
land,  professionally,  his  Othello  was  the  subject  of 
much  comment.  The  John  Bulls'  could  not  bring 
themselves  to  believe  that  an  American  actor  could 
achieve  a  triumph  over  a  Kean  and  a  Macready.  Jeal 
ousy  came  very  near  depriving  Mr.  Forrest  of  an  oppor 
tunity  of  achieving  this  triumph.  The  critic  of  the 
London  Morning  Herald,  in  October,  1836,  speaking  of 
Mr.  Forrest's  Othello,  says  : — "  From  this  moment  the 
actor  was  determined  not  to  lose  hold  of  the  minds  of 
the  audience,  and  duly  kept  his  hold.  When  a  convic 
tion  of  the  guilt  of  Desdemona  first  came  full  upon  him, 
and  he  exclaims,  ( I  had  rather  be  a  toad ! '  his  emotion 
and  gesticulation  were  absolutely  terrific,  though 
neither  coarse  nor  overacted.  Here  (and  we  are  aware 
of  the  hazardous  assertion)  Mr.  Forrest  really  appear 
ed  to  leave  behind  him  the  best  Othello  of  them  all. 
Three  distinct  rounds  of  applause  rewarded  his  success 
ful  exertion." 

In  the  address  to  the  Senate,  Mr.  Forrest  gave  two 
new  readings,  which  have  been  adopted  as  the  standard, 
being  in  conformity  to  the  true  meaning  of  the  author. 
We  do  not  give  them  as  of  sufficient  importance  to 
elicit  criticism,  but  simply  to  show  the  care  and  atten 
tion  he  bestowed  on  the  text  of  his  favorite  author. 
For  example : 

"  Rude  am  I  in  my  speech, 

And  little  bless'd  with  the  set  phrase  of  peace ; 
For  since  these  arms  of  mine  had  seven  years'  pith, 
Till  now,  some  nine  moons  wasted,  they  have  us'd 
Their  dearest  action  in  the  tented  field ; 
And  little  of  this  great  world  can  I  speak 
More  than  pertains  to  feats  of  broil  and  battle ; 
And,  therefore,  little  shall  I  grace  my  cause 
In  speaking  for  myself." 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORREST.  141 

We  do  not  recollect  an  instance  in  which  this  was 
not  read : 

"  In  speaking  for  myself" 

The  other  reading  was  of  still  greater  importance. 
It  is  in  the  passage  where  he  describes  the  anxiety  with 
which  Desdemona  used  to  listen  to  his  recitals  : 

"  She'd  come  again,  and  with,  a  greedy  ear 
Devour  up  my  discourse,  which  I  observing, 
Took  once  a  pliant  hour,  and  found  good  means 
To  draw  from  her  a  prayer  of  earnest  heart,"  etc. 

In  connection  with  the  tragedy  of  Othello,  there  is 
an  interpolation  of  six  lines  in  the  speech  of  Othello 
before  the  Senate,  which  have  perplexed  the  critics  and 
actors  considerably.  They  take  the  place  of  those 
extravagant  lines,  commencing  with 


and 


;  And  portance  in  my  travel's  history, 
Wherein  of  aiitres  vast,  and  deserts  idle, 
Bough  quarries,  rocks,  and  hills  whose  heads  touch  heaven," 


The  Anthropophagi,  and  men  whose  heads 
Do  grow  beneath  their  shoulders,"  etc. 


Such  sights  as  described  by  Othello  fully  sustain 
lago's  remark  that  Othello  won  his  bride  by  telling 
fantastical  lines.  All  these  are  omitted,  and  the  fol 
lowing  most  happily  substituted : 

"  Of  battles  bravely,  hardly  fought ;  of  victories 
For  which  the  conqueror  mourned, 
So  many  fell.     Sometimes  I  told 
The  story  of  a  siege  in  which  I  had  to  combat 
Plague  and  famine ;  soldiers  unpaid, 
Fearful  to  fight,  but  bold  in  dangerous  mutiny." 

In  a  prompt-book  of  Covent  Garden,  not  printed 
in  the  text,  but  interwritten  upon  a  blank  leaf,  these 
lines,  it  is  said,  were  first  discovered.  We  have  a  copy 


142  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

of  Othello,  wherein  they  are  to  be  found  as  given  above. 
The  play  has  the  following  title  : 

OTHELLO, 
A  Tragedy,  by  Shakespeare, 

As  performed  at  tJie 

THEATRE  ROYAL,  DRURY  LANE, 
Regulated  from  the  Prompt-Book, 

WITH  PERMISSION  OF  THE  MANAGERS, 

By  Mr.  Hopkins,  Prompter. 

An  INTRODUCTION  and  NOTES, 

Critical  and  Illustrative, 

Are  added  "by  the 
AUTHORS  OF  THE  DRAMATIC  CENSOR, 

London. 

Printed  for  John  Bell,  near  Exeter  Exchange, 

In  the  Strand, 

MDCCLXXVII. 


SALVINI. 

An  Italian  artist,  by  the  name  of  Salvini,  with  an 
Italian  company,  recently  arrived  in  this  country, 
and  his  Othello  has  been  said  by  critics  to  be  superior 
to  that  of  Mr.  Forrest's.  We  admit  the  talents  of  this 
Italian,  and  that  of  his  company,  but  cannot  endorse 
him  as  being  the  Othello  of  the  world !  Our  opinion 
of  him  we  give  here  in  connection  with  the  great 
tragedy : 

The  Italian  stage  and  actors  are  but  little  known 
to  us,  although  the  history  of  their  drama  dates  back 
to  a  very  early  period.  After  the  extinction  of  the 
Latin  Theatres,  the  Italian  drama  degenerated  into 
vulgarity  and  its  profession  strolled  from  town  to 
town.  It  languished  thus,  until  the  twelfth  century, 
when  it  gradually  recovered  its  vigor  and  admitted  the 
embellishment  of  dialogue.  Then  came  a  lapse  of 
years,  during  which  the  Italian  stage,  and  the  drama, 
were  lost  sight  of  by  the  people. 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  143 

The  Academy  of  Sienna  was  the  first  body  of  per 
sons  who  set  the  example  of  composing  and  represent 
ing  correct  comedies.  In  the  seventeenth  century  the 
hired  actors,  who  until  that  period  had  acted  extem 
pore,  were  known  as  improvisatori,  now  performed  any 
piece  which  had  not  been  previously  printed.  This 
was  the  commencement  of  the  legitimate  drama  in 
Italy,  which  was  subsequently  enhanced  by  the  trans 
lation  of  the  Plays  of  Shakespeare.  These  gave  a 
somewhat  different  tone  and  character  to  their  tragedies. 

Salvini  is  a  specimen  of  the  Italian  and  Shakespeare 
schools  combined.  His  conception  of  the  character  is  in 
the  main  correct,  but  in  carrying  it  out  he  overacts,  or 
rather,  we  should  say,  gives  it  an  Italian  coloring.  In 
the  First  Act,  where  Othello  shows  the  most  love, 
he  was  not  quite  up  to  the  standard  of  an  impassioned 
lover.  He  did  not  show  that  warmth  of  love  for  Des- 
demona  which  so  distinguished  Mr.  Forrest  in  the  part, 
but  in  the  bursts  of  passion  his  every  outbreak  re 
minded  us  of  that  gentleman.  Exaggeration  in  the 
impassioned  scenes  of  the  drama  is  not  at  all  times  con 
sidered  a  fault,  as  for  instance  in  King  Lear,  Virginius, 
Damon,  and  Othello,  the  actor  is  justified  in  stretching 
the  power  of  declamation  to  its  climax. 

The  Third  Act,  which  has  always  been  considered 
the  test  of  an  actor's  ability,  was  one  grand  display  of 
the  histrionic  art,  and  never  surpassed,  within  our  rec 
ollection,  but  by  one  man,  and  that  one,  the  great 
Othello  of  the  American  stage: 

EDWIN     FORREST. 

In  this  act,  and  in  fact  throughout  the  Fourth  and 
Fifth,  he  bore  such  a  striking  likeness  to  this  gentle- 


144  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

man,  both  in  voice  and  in  action,  that  it  seemed  as  if 
the  spirit  of  the  great  actor,  now  in  Heaven,  was  pres 
ent  on  this  occasion.  The  genius  of  Shakespeare 
dwells  with  but  few  actors,  and  when  it  does  fire  the 
soul,  it  makes  such  actors  as  Cooke,  Cooper,  Kean, 
Conway,  the  elder  Booth,  Edwin  Forrest  and  SALVINI. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  actor  generally,  there  are 
however  one  or  two  points  in  his  acting  which  marred 
the  harmony  as  a  perfect  whole.  The  first  is  the  sav 
age  treatment  he  inflicts  upon  lago.  Jealousy,  we  ad 
mit,  is  a  strong  passion,  but  it  seldom  shows  itself  on 
the  advise  of  another's  dishonor.  Forrest's  manner  was 
not  of  the  tiger  kind,  Salvini's  is,  for  he  not  only 
dashes  lago  to  the  ground,  but  it  seemed  to  us  that 
he  kicked  him  when  doivn. 

In  the  last  interview  with  Desdemona  he  seemed 
like  a  tiger  weaving  across  his  cage,  he  ranges  to  and 
fro  along  the  furthest  limits  of  the  stage,  now  stealing 
away  from  her  with  long  strides  and  avoiding  her  ap 
proaches,  and  now  turning  fiercely  round  upon  her  and 
rolling  his  black  eyes,  by  turns  agitated  by  irresolution, 
touched  by  tenderness,  or  goading  himself  into  rage, 
until,  at  last,  like  a  storm,  he  seizes  her  and  bears  her 
away  to  her  death.  After  the  deed  has  been  accom 
plished,  what  can  exceed  the  horror  of  his  ghastly 
face,  as  he  looks  out  between  the  curtains,  which  he 
gathers  about  him  when  he  hears  Emilia's  knock — or 
the  anguish  and  remorse  of  that  wild,  terrible  cry,  as 
he  leans  over  her  dead  body  after  he  knows  her  inno 
cence,  or  the  savage  rage  of  that  sudden  scream  with 
which  he  leaps  upon  lago. 

To  this  we  may  add,  as  not  being  Shakesperian 
nor  soldier  like,  the  cutting  his  throat  with  a  sort  of 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  145 

butcher's  knife.  It  is  not  a  refined  method  of  dying, 
nor  is  it  consistent  with  the  noble  bearing  of  Othello, 
who  exclaimed  even  in  the  moment  of  wild  excitement: 
"  Behold !  I  have  a  weapon,"  and  then  when  he  says, 
in  a  more  subdued,  yet  equally  determined  manner, 
bent  on  the  act  of  suicide,  "I  took  by  the  throat  the 
circumcised  dog,  and  smote  him  thus — " 

In  the  original  copy  of  Othello,  following  the  words 
"smote  him  thus,"  we  find  this  in  brackets  [stabs  him 
self].  Salvini  adopts  the  butcher's  mode,  and  not  that 
of  the  more  refined  method  of  making  his  quietus. 

Again,  as  Othello  has  to  speak  after  the  deed,  we 
question  if  he  would  be  enabled  to  do  so  with  a  "  slit 
wizzen."  The  words  he  has  to  say  are  these : 

"  I  kiss'd  thee,  ere  I  kill'd  thee :  no  way  but  this,. 
Killing  myself  to  die  upon  a  kiss. — " 


CHAPTEK   XII. 

FORREST  RETURNS  HOME  WITH  HIS  BRIDE. — HIS  RECEP 
TION. — GRAND  DINNER. — HIS  OLD  FRIENDS  AROUND 
HIM. — JOHN  SWIFT,  MORTON  MOMICHAEL,  LOUIS  A. 
GODEY,  ETC. 

"IV/TR.  FORREST,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  arrived 
-*-*-*-  home  in  1837.  Perhaps  no  married  couple  ever 
approached  our  shores  upon  whose  countenances  there 
glowed  the  light  of  love  more  bright,  and  upon  the 
brow  of  one. a  more  brilliant  wreath  of  fame  never  en 
twined  its  laurelled  leaves.  Little  did  he  think  then, 
9 


146  LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FORREST. 

with  his  smiling  bride  beside  him,  that  in  time  a 
dark  cloud  was  to  darken  their  future  happiness. 
Little  did  he  dream  that  years  of  misery  were  to 
follow  this  marriage,  and  that  his  fame  and  fortune 
were  to.be  imperilled  by  it.  But  the  die  was  cast,  con 
fidence  destroyed,  and  man  and  wife  parted  forever ! 

Immediately  on  his  return,  he  began  an  engagement 
at  the  Park  Theatre,  New  York,  where  he  achieved  a 
triumph  unequalled  in  stage  history.  The  receipts  for 
the  first  night  exceeded  four  thousand  dollars ! 

OLD    DRURY,    CHESTNUT    STREET. 

This  theatre  opened  for  the  fall  season  on  the  18th 
of  August,  1837,  with  "  Every  One  has  His  Fault." 
The  stars  announced,  were  Edwin  Forrest,  the  elder 
Vandenhoif,  Hackett,  Jim  Crow  Eice,  Ellen  Tree, 
Charles  Horn,  Bedouin  Arabs,  Miss  Horton,  Mr. 
Brough,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wood,  vocalists. 

On  the  15th  of  November,  1837,  Mr.  Forrest  ap 
peared  as  Othello,  Mr.  E.  S.  Connor  playing  lago ;  on 
the  27th,  Broker  of  Bogota ;  and  for  one  month  con 
tinued  to  fill  the  theatre,  closing  a  very  brilliant  en 
gagement,  the  first  and  only  one  of  the  kind  at  the 
Chestnut  Street  Theatre ;  over  the  head  of  all  the  bril 
liant  stars  named  above,  Forrest,  and  Forrest  only,  was 
the  card.  Miss  Turpin  and  Miss  Clifton  closed  the 
year  1837. 

The  friends  of  Mr.  Forrest,  who  felt  as  if  his  tri 
umph  in  England  was  a  compliment  to  our  country, 
and  a  homage  the  British  nation  paid  to  American 
talent,  tendered  him  a  public  dinner.  On  the  15th  of 
December,  1837,  this  event  took  place  at  the  Merchant'? 
Hotel,  North  Fourth  street,  above  Market.  On  thai 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  147 

day  about  two  hundred  gentlemen,  including  many  of 
the  most  eminent  of  our  fellow-citizens,  and  a  number 
of  distinguished  strangers,  sat  down  to  a  sumptuous 
dinner,  prepared  by  Mr.  Sanderson.  The  following 
named  gentlemen  had  been  previously  appointed  offi 
cers,  viz : — 

President.— NICHOLAS  BIDDLE. 

Vice-Preside7its. 

HON.  Jos.  R.  INGERSOLL,  HON.  JOHN  SWIFT, 

DR.  SAMUEL  JACKSON,  COL.  JAMES  PAGE, 

COL.  JOHN  P.  WETHERILL,  WM.  D.  LEWIS,  Esq. 

Stewards. 

MORTON  M°MICHAEL,  WM.  H.  HART, 

R.  T.  CONRAD,  F.  A.  HUBER, 

C.  INGERSOLL,  N.  C.  FOSTER, 

R.  PENN  SMITH,  JAMES  GOODMAN, 

THOS.  HART,  ADAM  WOELPPER, 

ROBERT  MORRIS. 

Among  the  invited  guests  were  several  members  of 
the  press,  and  of  the  dramatic  profession — William 
B.  Wood,  K.  C.  Maywood,  E.  S.  Connor,  F.  C. 
Wemyss,  Charles  Porter,  and  others. 

In  consequence  of  severe  indisposition,  Mr.  Biddle 
was  unable  to  attend,  and  he  addressed  the  following 
note  to  one  of  the  committee  of  arrangements. 

«  PHILADELPHIA,  Dec.  15th,  1837. 
"Hox.  ROBERT  T.  CONRAD. 

"My  DEAR  SIR  : — I  regret  much  that  indisposition  will 
prevent  me  from  joining  your  festival  to-day.  Feeling,  as  I 
do,  an  intense  nationality,  which  makes  the  fame  of  every 
citizen  the  common  property  of  the  country,  I  rejoice  at 
all  the  developments  of  intellectual  power  among  our 
countrymen  in  every  walk  of  life,  and  I  am  always  anxious 
to  do  honor  to  high  faculties  combined  with  personal 
worth.  Such  a  union  the  common  voice  ascribes  to  Mr. 
Forrest,  and  I  would  have  gladly  added  my  own  ap 
plause  to  the  general  homage.  But  this  is  impracticable 
now,  and  I  can  therefore  only  convey  through  you  a  senti- 


148  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

ment  which,  if  it  wants  the  vigorous  expression  of  health, 
has  at  least  a  sick  man's  sincerity.     It  is : 

"The  genius  of  our  country,  whenever  and  wherever 
displayed — honor  to  its  triumphs  in  every  field  of  fame. 
"  With  great  regard,  yours, 

"NICHOLAS  BIDDLE." 

At  five  o'clock  the  company  sat  down  to  the  table, 
which  occupied  the  whole  of  the  spacious  dining  hall, 
the  HON.  JOSEPH  K.  INGERSOLL  being  in  the  chair. 
Mr.  Forrest,  the  guest  of  the  day,  was  placed  at  his 
right ;  and  on  his  left  were  Chief- Justice  Gibson, 
Judge  Kogers  of  the  Supreme  Court,  Kecorder  Kobert 
T.  Conrad,  and  other  judicial  officers.  Many  gentlemen 
of  high  literary  distinction  were  present.  Messrs. 
Dunlop,  Banks,  Bell,  Doran,  and  other  members  of 
the  Convention,  then  sitting  in  the  city,  to  revise  the 
Constitution  of  the  State,  were  at  the  table;  among 
the  professional  persons  who  joined  in  the  festivity, 
we  particularly  noticed  Dr.  Jackson,  of  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  Professor  Mitchell,  and  Dr.  Colhoun, 
the  Dean  of  Jefferson  College.  Mr.  Leggett,  of  New 
York,  the  early  friend  of  Mr.  Forrest,  was  present  by 
invitation. 

After  the  cloth  was  removed,  many  speeches  were 
made,  and  among  those  who  spoke  at  length,  were  Col. 
John  Swift,  James  Page,  and  Joseph  K.  Chandler. 
The  latter,  in  the  course  of  his  remarks,  made  allusion 
to  Jack  Cade  and  Caius  Marius,  and  concluded  by  offer 
ing  the  health  of  the  Kecorder  of  the  city,  Robert  T. 
Conrad,  to  which  that  gentleman  replied  as  follows  — 

"  To  those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  gentleman  who 
has  just  taken  his  seat,  no  act  of  generosity  or  kindness 
coming  from  him  can  be  wholly  unexpected.  I  will  not, 
therefore,  plead,  in  extenuation  of  my  inability  to  return  a 


LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FORREST.  149 

suitable  acknowledgment,  the  surprise  which  his  flattering 
reference  to  me,  and  the  still  more  flattering  manner  in 
which  that  reference  was  received,  have  excited.  I  may, 
however,  regret  that  the  excess  of  his  kindness  deprives 
me  of  the  power  of  speaking  the  gratitude  which  it  inspires 
— a  gratitude  which  is  only  rendered  more  profound  by  a 
reference  to  our  home  literature.  The  press  has  domesti 
cated  it  in  the  poor  man's  cottage,  and  made  it  with 
all  its  holy  and  humanizing  influences,  universal  as  the 
rains  of  spring,  or  the  sun  of  summer.  To  be,  or  to 
have  been,  connected  with  an  agent  so  mighty  and 
beneficent,  is  no  slight  honor.  The  first  minds  of  the  age 
have  been  associated  with  the  press.  Several  of  the 
choicest  spirits  around  this  board  have  labored  in  that 
field  ;  and,  if  I  do  not  err,  the  gentleman  who  is  prevented 
by  illness  from  presiding  here  to-day,  "our  absent  Banquo" 
— the  accomplished  Biddle,  was,  at  one  time,  connected 
with  the  periodical  press.  Of  the  profession,  as  now  con 
stituted  in  this  country,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  affirm,  that  it 
comprises  an  almost  unrivalled  amount  of  genius  and  public 
spirit — thousands  of  gifted  men,  whose  minds  flow  through 
society,  like  rills  through  the  meadow — 

That,  with  a  livelier  green, 


Betrays  the  secret  of  their  silent  course.' 

"  The  gentleman  who  called  me  up  is,  himself,  an  in 
stance  of  the  truth  of  this  remark — one  who  would  adorn 
and  illustrate  any  walk  of  public  life,  however  arduous  or 
however  elevated.  In  our  own  city,  the  corps  is  composed 
of  men  who  would  do  honor  to  any  community — men  as 
enlightened  and  liberal,  as  high-minded  and  warm-hearted 
as  any  in  the  land.  Their  craft  has  been  considered,  by 
some,  an  ungentle  one,  and  many  have  regarded  editors  as 
a  species  of  intellectual  gladiators,  who  cut  and  hack  each 
other  "*  for  the  diversion  of  Romans : '  but  in  this  city,  at 
least,  such  is  not  the  fact;  for,  while  they  have  won  the 
confidence  and  applause  of  the  public,  they  have  done  what 
is  more  difficult  and  more  honorable — they  have  main 
tained  feelings  of  almost  fraternal  kindness  for  each  other. 
It  is  to  be  wished  that  such  were  the  spirit  of  the  press 
everywhere.  The  priests  who  minister  in  the  great  tem 
ple  of  knowledge  are,  or  ought  to  be,  always  and  every 
where,  brothers. 


150  LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FORKEST. 

"I  would  be  proud  to  bear  this  testimony  in  favor  of 
the  press  at  any  time ;  but  I  do  it  the  more  eagerly  on  the 
present  occasion,  as  I  see  at  this  board  a  valued  and  esti 
mable  member  of  the  press,  from  whom  I  venture  to  hope 
for  a  response.  His  station  would  do  honor  to  any  man — 
the  man  would  reflect  honor  on  any  station.  No  one  has 
done  more  to  cultivate  the  elevated,  refined,  or  friendly 
spirit  that  characterizes  the  Philadelphia  press — no  one  has 
directed  the  energies  of  that  press  to  the  accomplishment 
of  milder  or  nobler  purposes.  In  such  hands  the  giant 
power  of  the  press  will  always  be  safe — its  influences  bene 
ficent — its  triumphs  stainless — victoria  sine  glade.  I  have 
only  to  add  the  hope  that  he  may  long  continue  to  grace 
the  councils  of  the  city  and  the  State,  and,  for  many  and 
many  a  year  to  come,  give  us  each  day  the  daily  bread  of 
the  mind.  I  tender  as  a  sentiment, 

"  '  RICHARD  PENN  SMITH,  whose  early  connection  with 
the  public  press  of  our  city  was  the  precursor  of  its  present 
Buccess — whose  accomplishment  as  a  scholar,  whose  talents 
as  a  writer,  are  made  more  attractive  by  his  attachment 
as  a  friend,  his  feelings  as  a  man,  and  his  courtesy  as  a 
gentleman.' " 

In  reply,  Mr.  Smith  arose  and  said : 

"MR.  PRESIDENT: — I  find  myself  in  the  position  of 
the  needy  knife  grinder — 'Story!  God  bless  you!  I  have 
none  to  tell,  sir.'  You,  sir,  are  an  experienced  member  of 
the  Philadelphia  bar,  and  consequently  cannot  imagine  how 
hard  it  is  to  make  a  speech  after  the  pointed  and  eloquent 
addresses  that  have  just  been  made ;  but,  sir,  you  have  also 
been  a  member  of  Congress,  and  can  fully  understand  how 
hard  it  is  to  listen  to  a  succession  of  speeches  without 
relief  or  interruption.  The  repetition  of  the  words  how 
hard  reminds  me  of  a  benevolent  being  who  visited  the 
principal  penitentiaries  of  Europe  for  the  purpose  of  alle 
viating  the  condition  of  their  distressed  inmates.  I  at  pres 
ent  feel  myself  in  the  position  of  a  prisoner,  and  the  most 
feasible  escape  that  occurs  is  to  call  upon  my  friend,  the 
benevolent  Howard,  to  relieve  me  from  my  difficulties  and 
cheer  me  with  a  song." 

The  President  called  upon  Brough  and  Howard  for 
a  duett;  which  was  given. 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FO1UIEST. 

After  the  song,  Mr.  Smith  responded  to  the  compli 
ment  contained  in  Mr.  Chandler's  address,  and  said, 
that  he  must  confess  himself  a  genuine  Yankee  in  his 
literary  pursuits,  for  he  had  commenced  business  in 
various  branches,  but  had  been  constant  to  none.  As 
a  newspaper  editor,  he  had  his  day — a  stormy  one, 
without  a  ray  of  sunshine.  As  a  novelist,  his  produc 
tions  were  Forsaken,  and  somewhat  Deformed  ;  but  the 
organ  of  philoprogenitiveness  was  so  strongly  devel 
oped,  that  they  were  never  Disoivned.  Mr.  Smith  here 
paid  a  just  tribute  to  the  talents  of  Irving,  Cooper,  Ken 
nedy,  Sedgwick,  and  other  distinguished  novelists  of 
the  day.  He  touched  upon  his  career  as  a  dramatist, 
and  begged  permission  to  speak  in  kindly  terms  of  his 
productions,  as  the  Roman  adage  fully  applied  to  them 
— de  mortuis  nil  nisi  bonum.  He  referred  with  pleas 
ure  to  his  intercourse  with  Mr.  Forrest,  for  whom  he 
wrote  his  tragedy  entitled  Caius  Marius,  but  regret 
ted  that  even  the  transcendant  talents  of  his  friend 
could  not  save  his  hero  from  perishing  among  the  ruins 
of  Carthage. 

Mr.  Smith,  in  speaking  of  the  American  drama,  said, 
that  on  such  an  occasion,  it  would  be  unpardonable  to 
overlook  one  who  stood  foremost  in  the  ranks  of  our 
dramatic  writers.  A  gentleman  who  had  distinguished 
himself  by  his  various  talents  as  an  artist  and  an 
author ;  and  whose  dramatic  works  would  ultimately 
secure  him  an  enviable  fame.  He  regretted  that  age, 
and  the  inclement  season,  prevented  his  participation 
in  the  festivities  of  the  occasion.  He  referred  to  Wil 
liam  Dunlap,  of  New  York.  Mr.  Smith  read  the  follow 
ing  letter : 


152  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FOIIEEST. 

"NEW  YORK,  December  llth,  1837. 

"  GENTLEMEN  : — I  received  on  the  evening  of  the  9th  in 
stant,  your  polite  letter,  doing  me  the  honor  of  requesting 
my  presence  at  a  public  dinner  to  be  given  to  Edwin  For 
rest  on  the  15th  instant.  Nothing  but  the  progress  of 
winter,  which  I  see  around  me,  and  feel  within,  could  pre 
vent  my  testifying  in  person  how  highly  I  appreciate  the 
invitation  of  the  committee  and  the  gentleman  to  whom 
the  public  mark  of  esteem  is  to  be  given.  Permit  me  to 
offer  a  toast : 

" '  The  American  Actor,  who  both  in  public  and  private 
life  upholds  the  honor  of  his  country :  Edwin  Forrest.' 

"  WILLIAM  DUKLAP." 

Mr.  President,  said  Mr.  Smith,  I  will  offer  you  a 
toast  which,  I  have  no  doubt  will  be  cordially  respond 
ed  to. 

"  WILLIAM  DTJKLAP.  The  Nestor  of  the  American 
Drama.  May  he  live  to  see  the  edifice  become  what  his 
foundation  promised." 

Now  commenced  the  crowning  scene  of  the  evening. 
Chief-Justice  Gibson  rose  in  his  place,  and  said  : 

"The  friends  of  the  drama  are  desirous  of  paying  a 
merited  tribute  of  respect  and  esteem  to  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  and  successful  of  its  sons.  Well  approved 
usage,  upon  occasions  not  dissimilar,  has  pointed  to  this 
our  cheerful  greeting  as  a  fitting  method  for  carrying  their 
desires  into  effect.  It  combines  the  compliment  of  public 
and  unequivocal  demonstration  with  the  kindness  and  cor 
diality  of  social  intercourse.  It  serves  to  express  at  once 
opinions  the  result  of  deliberate  judgment,  and  sentiments 
warm  and  faithful  from  the  heart. 

"  To  our  guest  we  owe  much  for  having  devoted  to  the 
profession  which  he  has  selected  an  uncommon  energy  of 
character  and  peculiar  personal  aptitudes.  They  are  both 
adapted  to  the  happiest  illustrations  of  an  art,  which  in  the 
absence  of  either  would  want  a  finished  representative; 
but  by  a  rare  combination  of  faculties  in  him,  he  is  enabled 
effectually  '  to  hold  the  mirror  up  to  Nature.'  It  is  an  art, 
in  the  rational  pleasures  and  substantial  advantages  derived 
from  which,  all  are  free  to  participate,  and  a  large  proper- 


LIFE    OF    EDAVIN     FORREST.  153 

tion  of  the  educated  and  liberal  minded  avail  themselves  of 
the  privilege — an  art  which  for  thousands  of  years  has 
been  practised  with  success,  admired  and  esteemed;  and 
the  men  who  have  adorned  it  by  their  talents  have  received 
the  well-earned  plaudits  of  their  age,  and  the  honors  of  a 
cherished  name. 

"  To  our  guest  we  owe  especial  thanks  that  he  has  been 
a  prompt,  uniform  and  liberal  patron  of  his  art.  Dramatic 
genius  and  merit  have  never  appealed  to  him  for  aid  in 
vain.  lie  has  devoted  the  best  directed  generosity,  and 
some  of  his  most  brilliant  professional  efforts,  to  their 
cause. 

"  To  our  guest  we  owe  unmeasured  thanks  that  he  has 
done  much  by  his  personal  exertion,  study  and  example,  to 
identify  our  stage  with  the  classic  drama,  and  that  he  has 
made  the  more  than  modern  ^Eschylus,  the  myriad-minded 
Shakespeare,  ours. 

"  We  owe  him  thanks,  as  members  of  a  well-regulated 
community,  that  by  the  course  and  current  of  his  domestic 
life,  the  reproaches  that  are  sometimes  cast  upon  his  profes 
sion  have  been  signally  disarmed.  And  in  this  moment  of 
joyous  festivity,  we  feel  that  we  owe  him  unnumbered 
thanks,  that  he  has  offered  us  an  opportunity  to  express  for 
him  an  unfeigned  and  cordial  regard.  These  sentiments 
are  embraced  in  a  brief  but  comprehensive  toast,  which  I 
will  ask  leave  to  offer ,  '  The  stage  (and  then  turning  to 
Mr.  Forrest)  and  its  Master.' " 

A  peal  of  three-times-three  followed  the  speech  and 
sentiment,  after  which  Mr.  Forrest,  rising,  with  great 
power  and  effect,  returned  his  thanks  in  an  able  and 
appropriate  address,  which  was  made  with  good  discre 
tion.  His  delivery  was  natural,  forcible  and  unaffected ; 
and  in  many  passages,  all  who  heard  him  were  moved 
to  tears.  At  the  allusion  to  his  earliest  and  best  friend, 
Col.  John  Swift,  the  Mayor  of  the  city,  the  whole 
company  rose,  and,  by  a  common  impulse,  gave  six 
good  cheers.  Mr.  Forrest  said : — 

"MR.  PRESIDENT  AND  GENTLEMEN: — I  feel  too  deep 
ly  the  honor  this  day  rendered  me,  to  be  able  to  express 


154  LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FORREST. 

myself  in  terms  of  adequate  meaning.  There  are  timos 
when  the  tongue  is  at  best  a  poor  interpreter  of  the  heart. 
The  strongest  emotions  do  not  always  clothe  themselves  in 
the  strongest  language.  The  words  which  rise  to  my  lips 
seem  too  cold  and  vapid  to  denote  truly  the  sentiments 
which  prompt  them ;  they  lack  that  terseness  and  energy 
which  the  occasion  deserves. 

"The  actor  usually  comes  before  the  public  in  a  'fic 
tion,  in  a  dream  of  passion,'  and  his  aim  is  to  suit  his  utter 
ance  and  the  '  havior  of  the  visage '  to  the  unreal  situation. 
But  the  resources  of  my  art  do  not  avail  me  here.  This  is 
no  pageant  of  the  stage,  to  be  forgotten  with  the  hour,  nor 
this  an  audience  drawn  to  view  its  mimic  scenes.  I  stand 
amidst  a  numerous  throng  of  the  chiefest  denizens  of  my 
native  city,  convened  to  do  me  honor ;  and  this  costly  ban 
quet  they  present  to  me,  a  magnificent  token  of  their 
regard.  I  feel,  indeed,  that  I  am  no  actor  here.  My  bosom 
throbs  with  un dissembled  agitation,  and  in  the  grateful 
tumult  of  my  thoughts  I  cannot  '  beget  a  temperance  to 
give  smoothness'  to  my  acknowledgments  for  so  proud  a 
tribute.  In  the  simplest  form  of  speech,  then,  let  me  assure 
you,  from  my  inmost  heart  I  thank  you. 

"  I  have  but  recently  returned  from  England,  after  per 
forming  many  nights  on  those  boards  where  the  master 
spirits  of  the  stage  achieved  their  noblest  triumphs.  You 
have  heard  from  other  sources  with  what  kindness  I  was 
received,  and  with  what  bounteous  applause  my  efforts 
were  rewarded.  Throughout  my  sojourn  abroad,  I  experi 
enced  only  the  most  candid  and  liberal  treatment  from  the 
public,  and  the  most  elegant  and  cordial  hospitality  in  pri 
vate.  But  I  rejoice  that  the  time  has  come  round  which 
brings  me  again  to  the  point  from  which  I  started,  which 
places  me  among  those  friends  whose  partial  kindness  dis 
covered  the  first  unfoldings  of  my  mind,  and  watched  it 
with  assiduous  care  through  all  the  stages  of  its  subsequent 
development.  The  applause  of  foreign  audiences  was 
soothing  to  my  pride,  but  that  which  I  received  at  home 
had  aroused  a  deeper  sentiment.  The  people  of  England 
bestowed  their  approbation  on  the  results  of  long  practice 
and  severe  study,  but  my  countrymen  gave  me  theirs  in 
generous  anticipation  of  those  results ;  they  looked  with 
indulgence  on  the  completed  statue;  you  marked  with 
interest,  from  day  to  day,  the  progress  of  the  work,  till  the 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  155 

rough  block,  by  gradual  change,  assumed  the  present  form. 
Let  me  hope  that  it  may  yet  be  sculptured  to  great  sym 
metry  and  smoothness,  and  better  deserve  your  lavish 
regard.  The  sounds  and  sights  which  greet  me  here  are 
linked  with  thrilling  associations.  Among  the  voices  which 
welcome  me  to-night,  I  distinguish  some  which  were  raised 
in  kind  approval  of  my  earliest  efforts.  Among  the  faces 
which  surround  this  board  I  trace  lineaments  deeply 
stamped  on  my  memory  in  that  expression  of  benevolent 
encouragement  with  which  they  regarded  my  juvenile 
attempts  and  cheered  me  onward  in  the  outset  of  my 
career.  I  look  on  your  features,  sir  (said  Mr.  Forrest,  ad 
dressing  himself  to  the  Mayor  of  the  city,  John  Swift,  who 
occupied  a  seat  by  his  right),  and  my  mind  glides  over  a 
long  interval  of  time,  to  a  scene  I  can  never  forget.  Four 
lustres  are  now  nearly  completed  since  the  event  occurred 
to  which  I  allude. 

"  A  crowd  was  gathered,  one  evening,  in  the  Tivoli 
Garden  to  behold  the  curious  varieties  of  delirium  men 
exhibited  on  inhaling  nitrous  oxide.  Several  years  had 
then  elapsed  since  the  great  chemist  of  England  had  made 
known  the  singular  properties  of  exhilarating  gas;  and 
strange  antics  performed  under  its  influence  by  distin 
guished  philosophers,  poets  and  statesmen  of  Europe,  were 
then  on  record.  It  was  yet,  however,  a  novelty  with  us, 
and  the  public  experiments  drew  throngs  to  witness  them. 
Among  those  to  whom  the  intoxicating  agent  was  admin 
istered  on  the  occasion  referred  to,  there  chanced  to  be  a 
little  unfriended  boy  who,  in  the  instant  ecstasy  which  the 
subtle  fluid  inspired,  threw  himself  into  a  tragic  attitude, 
and  commenced  declaiming  a  passage  from  one  of  Shake 
speare's  plays  :  '  What  ho  ! '  he  cried,  '  young  Richmond, 
ho  !  'tis  Richard  calls.  I  hate  thee,  Harry,  for  thy  blood  of 
Lancaster  ! '  But  the  effect  of  the  serial  draught  was  brief 
as  it  was  sudden  and  irresistible.  The  boy,  awaking  as 
from  a  dream,  was  surprised  to  find  himself  the  centre  of 
attraction,  '  the  observed  of  all  observers?  Abashed  at  his 
novel  and  awkward  position,  he  shrunk  timidly  from  the 
glances  of  the  spectators,  and  would  have  stolen  in  haste 
away ;  but  a  stranger  stepped  from  the  crowd,  and  taking 
him  kindly  by  the  hand,  pronounced  words  which  thrilled 
through  him  with  a  spell-like  influence.  '  This  lad,'  said  he, 
'  has  the  germ  of  tragic  greatness  in  him.  The  exhilarating 


156  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

gas  has  given  him  no  new  power ;  it  has  only  revealed  one 
which  lay  dormant  in  him  before.  It  needs  only  to  be 
cherished  and  cultivated  to  bring  goodly  fruit.' 

"  Gentlemen,  the  present  chief  magistrate  of  our  city 
was  that  benevolent  stranger,  and  your  guest  to-night  was 
that  unfriended  boy.  If  the  prophecy  has  been  in  any  de 
gree  fulfilled — if  since  that  time  I  have  attained  some  emi 
nence  in  my  profession,  let  my  full  heart  acknowledge  that 
the  inspiriting  prediction,  followed  as  it  was  with  repeated 
acts  of  delicate  and  considerate  kindness,  exercised  the 
happiest  influence  on  the  result.  It  was  a  word  in  season. 
It  was  a  kindly  greeting  calculated  to  arouse  all  the  ener 
gies  of  my  nature  and  direct  them  to  a  particular  aim. 
Prophecy  oftentimes  shapes  the  event  which  it  seems  to 
foretell.  One  shout  of  friendly  confidence  at  the  begin 
ning  of  a  race  may  nerve  the  runner  with  strength  to  win 
the  goal.  Happy  he,  who,  on  accomplishing  his  round,  is 
received  with  generous  welcome  by  the  same  friends  that 
cheered  him  at  the  start.  Among  such  friends  I  stand. 
You  listened  with  inspiring  praise  and  augury  to  the  im 
mature  efforts  of  the  boy,  and  you  now  honor  with  this 
proud  token  of  your  approbation  the  achievements  of  the 
man.  You  nurtured  me  in  the  bud  and  early  blossom  of 
my  life,  and  •  labored  to  make  me  full  of  growing ; '  if  you 
have  succeeded,  the  harvest  is  your  own." 

Mayor  Swift  had  made  an  allusion  to  an  incident 
in  Forrest's  early  history — that  of  inhaling  laughing 
gas  at  the  Tivoli  Garden,  on  Market  Street.  This 
caused  a  roar  of  laughter,  in  which  no  one  joined 
more  heartily  than  the  tragedian  himself.  (See  Chap 
ter  III.) 

Some  remarks  were  made  at  that  time  by  the  press 
as  regards  the  exclusive  character  of  this  dinner.  It 
was  said  that  a  dinner  to  an  actor  was  the  reward  of 
literary  services  rendered  to  his  country,  and  that  in 
vitations  should  have  been  given  to  the  members  of  the 
profession,  who  for  years  assisted  the  great  actor  to  sus 
tain  the  dramatic,  as  well  as  the  literary  character  of 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKREST.  157 

the  American  stage.  There  were  many  actors  living 
at  the  time,  whose  names  should  have  been  included 
among  those  of  the  press,  the  politicians,  lawyers  and 
doctors.  William  B.  Wood,  Maywood,  Wemyss,  E.  S. 
Connor,  Charles  S.  Porter,  and  Howard,  the  vocalist, 
were  the  only  members  of  the  profession  present.  As 
a  compliment  to  Mr.  Forrest,  this  dinner  was  a  flat 
tering  mark  of  the  estimation  in  which  his  talent  was 
held  in  his  native  city.  Some  fifteen  years  ago,  in 
giving  an  account  of  this  dinner,  in  connection  with  a 
short  sketch  of  Mr.  Forrest's  life,  we  said : 

"  Time  and  space  would  fail  us  to  accord  even  a  brief 
notice  to  the  various  addresses  on  this  festive  event.  His 
Honor  the  Mayor,  as  the  tide  of  reminiscences  swept  past, 
gave  vent  to  the  obvious  expressions  flowing  from  the 
fountain  of  feeling — the  heart.  He  did  honor  to  the  in 
voluntary  bursts  of  applause  by  gently  wiping  his  well- 
deluged  eyes — a  weakness,  if  ye  please  so  to  call  it,  that 
seemed  contagious.  The  noble  Chief-Justice  Gibson  re 
laxed  from  legal  dignity  and  reserve,  and  amused  the  com 
pany  from  his  well-stored  anecdotal  repository,  with  plain- 
spoken  and  racy  facts.  Joseph  K.  Chandler,  Col.  James 
Page,  Richard  Penn  Smith,  Morton  McMichael,  Dr.  Jack 
son,  and  others,  kept  the  tables  joyous  with  piquant  jest, 
repartee,  and  sprightly  anecdote ;  and,  as  one  of  the  edi 
tors  of  our  press  said,  '  our  brother  of  the  United  States 
Gazette  was  full  of  point  and  pith,  teeming  with  peculiar 
aptitude  of  allusion,  from  gay  to  grave.'  The  songs  and 
duets,  by  Messrs.  Russell,  Brough,  Howard,  and  our  old 
amateur  friend  H.  E.  Levenstein,  were  excellent,  and  as 
tastefully  swallowed  as  the  sparkling  champagne,  some  of 
the  bottles  of  which  were  with  a  very  felicitous  conceit 
marked  the  '  Forrest  Brand,'  while  the  name  of  the  chief 
guest  was  woven  in  wreaths  which  encircled  the  sugared 
pyramids  of  confection,  and  was  also  embossed  in  white 
sugared  letters,  in  the  cakes  and  pastry  of  the  dessert." 

Letters   were    received    from  Washington    Irving 


158  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKREST. 

and  other  distinguished  literary  gentlemen,  compliment 
ary  to  the  guest,  apologetic  of  non-attendance. 

William  B.  Wood,  in  his  "  Personal  Kecollections 
of  the  Stage/'  sums  up  this  pleasing  event  in  Mr.  For 
rest's  life  in  five  lines  :  — "  During  this  season  the 
citizens  of  Philadelphia  honored  their  distinguished 
townsman,  Edwin  Forrest,  with  a  splendid  dinner, 
under  circumstances  which  must  have  proved  highly 
gratifying  to  him." 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

KING    LEAR. — ORIGIN    OF    THE    PLOT. — CHRONICLE   HIS 
TORY     OF     KING    LEAR. SHAKESPEARE'S     LEAR. 

BETTERTON. BURBAGE. BARTON    BOOTH. KEM- 

BLE'S  ADAPTATION. WILLIAM  DUNLAP's  OPINION  OF 

FORREST'S  LEAR.  —  MR.  FORREST'S  CONCEPTION  OF 
THE  CHARACTER. EXTRAORDINARY  TALENT  DIS 
PLAYED  IN  ITS  RENDITION. CRITICAL  NOTICES  BY 

THE     AUTHOR. THRILLING     INCIDENT     DURING     MR. 

FORREST'S  PERFORMANCE  OF  LEAR.  —  FIRST  PER 
FORMANCE  OF  KING  LEAR  IN  AMERICA. — THE  CAST. 

MR.  FORREST'S  career  was  now  one  of  a  succes 
sion  of  triumphs.  We  shall  have  very  little  to 
say  about  his  engagements  North  or  South,  nor  of  any 
other  until  his  departure  to  fulfil  another  engagement 
in  Europe.  Our  readers  will  perceive  that  in  our 
desultory  style  we  have  not  strictly  adhered  to  the 
biographical  order  of  composition,  but  used  the  more 
general  term — Reminiscences.  Our  object  is  to  place 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOEEEST.  159 

Mr.  Forrest  before  the  American  people  in  two  distinct 
characters,  the  one  private,  the  other  dramatic. 

Perhaps  no  man  belonging  to  the  profession  ren 
dered  these  two  characters  more  distinct  than  did  Mr. 
Forrest.  Garrick,  Kemble,  Cooke,  Kean,  Booth  and 
Fennell,  acted  all  the  time,  and  were  alike  distin 
guished  for  their  actions  off  the  stage,  which  were  as 
much  in  character  as  were  those  on  the  stage. 

To  prove  this,  it  would  be  necessary  for  us  to  give 
a  sketch  of  the  life  of  these  gentlemen,  which  is  quite 
out  of  the  question  in  connection  with  these  reminis 
cences.  Many  of  our  readers,  however,  can  bear  wit 
ness  to  the  truth  of  these  remarks,  as  relates  to  two  or 
three  of  those  named.  Nor  is  it  necessary  to  add,  there 
are  many  now  living  to  whom  they  will  apply  with 
equal  force. 

It  is  said  of  one  of  those  named  above  : 

"  Hide  the  goblet  from  his  lip, 

He  must  glut  in  his  thoughts  while  his  brethren  sip ; 
Should  his  proboscis  once  in  its  hollow  be  tombed 
All  its  liquor  would  hiss,  and  its  sides  be  consum'd." 

Not  alone  to  this  prominent  actor  will  these  lines 
apply.  Although  we  do  not  allude  to  them  here  as 
forming  a  stage  trait  of  character,  yet  the  indulgence 
of  the  "  wine  cup,"  not  unfrequently  was  the  means  of 
destroying  both  the  private  and  dramatic  character  of 
many  a  member  of  the  profession. 

While  Mr.  Forrest  was  winning  laurels  elsewhere, 
let  us  leave  him  for  the  present,  and  say  something 
of  his 

KING   LEAR. 

Lear — "  You  must  bear  with  me ! 
Pray  now,  forget  and  forgive  ;  I  am  old  and  foolish." 

Act  1 V. ;  Scene  7. 


160  LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FORREST. 

This  great  tragedy — the  most  finished,  bold,  and 
next  to  Hamlet  in  its  intellectual  and  philosophical 
characteristics — was  written  when  the  author  was  in 
the  very  prime  of  life  and  the  full  vigor  and  matu 
rity  of  his  genius.  It  is  deeply  stamped  with  all  the 
most  marked  peculiarities  of  the  style  and  cast  of 
thought  predominant  in  all  his  later  works. 

THE  OLD  PLAY  OF  KING  LEAR. 

The  old  "Chronicle"  History  of  King  Leir,  as  it  is 
called  on  the  title-page,  was  entered  at  Stationers'  Hall 
in  1564;  the  author's  name  is  unknown.  It  was 
played  by  Henslowe's  company,  on  the  6th  of  April, 
1593.  Shakespeare's  King  Lear,  could  not  have  been 
composed  until  after  1603,  because  it  contains  several 
singular  names  of  spirits,  taken  from  Samuel  Hansnet's 
Declaration  of  "  Popish  Imposters,"  then  first  published. 
Malone  confidently  thought  that  the  substitution  of 
"Britishman"  for  "Englishman"  in  Edgar's  repetition 
of  the  old  verse,  act  iii.,  scene  4,  proved  the  piece  to 
have  been  written  after  James  I.  had  been  proclaimed 
the  first  sovereign  of  Great  Britain,  October  1st,  1604. 
He  therefore  referred  the  play  to  1605,  and  Dr.  Drake 
to  1604. 

As  this  entry  is  somewhat  curious,  we  annex  it : — 
"  26  November,  1607.— Na.  Butler  and  Jo.  Busby. 
Entred  for  their  copie  under  f  liande  of  Sur  Geo. 
Bucke,  Kt.  and  the  wardens  a  boohe  catted  Mr.  Willm. 
Shakespeare,  his  Jiistorye  of  King  Lear,  as  yt  was 
played  before  the  King's  Majestie  at  Whitehall,  upon 
St.  Stephen's  night,  at  Christmas  last,  by  his  Majestie' s 
servants  playing  usually  at  the  Globe  on  the  Bank 
side." 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FO11REST. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  the  two  plays  owe  their  ori 
gin  to  a  literal  translation  of  King  Lear  of  the  Britons, 
and  his  Three  Daughters,  from  a  portion  of  the  Welsh 
history  by  Tysilio,  who  wrote  in  the  sixth  century ;  the 
MSS.  of  which  are  now  in  the  Bodleian  library.  The 
legend  was  frequently  quoted  by  Qeoffery  of  Monmouth, 
and  then  translated  in  Holinshead's  Chronicles,  whence 
Shakespeare  certainly  derived  it. 

In  the  old  Welsh  legend,  it  reads  that  Lear  had  no 
sons,  but  three  daughters,  whose  names  were  Gonilla, 
Ragun  and  Cordilla,  whom  he  loved  most  tenderly,  but 
especially  his  youngest  daughter  Cordilla.  When  he 
became  old  he  thought  of  dividing  the  Isle  of  Britain, 
as  a  portion  for  his  daughters.  But  to  make  a  trial  of 
their  affection  and  duty  to  him,  and  to  know  who 
deserved  the  best  part  of  the  kingdom,  he  asked  each  of 
them  who  loved  him  most.  Gonilla,  the  eldest,  made 
answer,  "  that  she  loved  him  more  than  her  own  soul." 
The  father  replied  — "  Since  you  regard  my  old  age 
before  your  own  soul,  my  dearest  daughter,  I  will  repay 
your  affection,  and  you  shall  be  married  to  the  man  you 
desire,  and  the  third  part  of  my  kingdom  shall  be  your 
portion."  The  question  was  proposed  to  Ragun,  the 
second  daughter,  who  replied,  "that  she  could  not 
express  her  tender  affection  for  her  dear  father,  but  she 
loved  him  above  all  creatures ; "  the  father  answered, 
"  that  he  loved  her  as  much,  and  would  bestow  the  same 
upon  her  as  his  eldest  daughter,  Gonilla."  Cordilla, 
perceiving  how  they  betrayed  her  credulous  father  with 
flattery,  thought  of  making  a  suitable  reply  to  his 
question ;  when  being  asked  she  said : — "  My  dear 
father,  although  there  are  some  who  profess  to  love  you 
beyond  bounds,  yet  I  love  you,  my  dear  father,  as  much 
10 


1G2  LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FORREST. 

as  it  is  the  duty  of  a  daughter  to  love  her  father,  neither 
more  or  less,  and  take  this  as  my  answer — how  much 
you -have,  so  much  is  your  value,  and  so  I  love  you." 

The  choleric  king  takes  offence  at  this  and  to  use  a 
familiar  phrase,  "  cut  her  off  with  a  shilling."  In  the 
old  play  the  words  are  thus  given.  Gonilla  says  : — 

"  As  much  as  child  e'er  loved,  or  father  found  ; 
A  love  that  makes  breath  poor,  and  speech  unable  ; 
Beyond  all  manner  of  so  much  I  love  you." 

Eagun,  equally  affectionate,  says  : — 

"  I  am  made  of  that  same  metal  as  my  sister, 
And  prize  me  at  her  worth.     In  my  true  heart ; 
I  find  she  names  my  very  deed  of  love  ; 
Only  she  comes  too  short,  that  I  profess 
Myself  an  enemy  to  all  other  joys, 
Which  the  most  precious  square  of  sense  possesses, 
And  find  I  am  alone  felicitate 
In  your  highness'  love." 

Cordilla's  response  is  beautifully  expressive  : — 

"  I  love  your  majesty — 
According  to  my  bond  ;  nor  more,  nor  less." 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  point  out  passages  which 
have  a  seeming  resemblance,  seeming  indeed  they  are, 
for  Shakespeare's  play  founded  upon  these  mere 
sketches,  is  a  triumph  so  immense,  that  all  minor  pro 
ductions  are  but  the  A,  B,  C  to  the  dramatic  art,  at 
whose  head  he  alone  will  ever  stand. 

In  the  old  play,  Lear  has  a  friend  called  Percillus, 
who  never  excites  our  interest  as  does  that  of  Kent  in 
the  later  and  greater  play  by  the  immortal  bard, 
Shakespeare. 

The  characters  of  both  performances  are  nearly  the 
same  ;  but  while  in  the  old  play,  they  are  compara 
tively  only  instruments  of  utterance,  Shakespeare 
breathes  a  spirit  of  life  into  his  historical  personages, 


LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FORREST.  1C3 

and  they  live  again  in  his  lines.  Shakespeare  may  be 
criticised  for  a  century,  but  after  all  we  shall  only 
arrive  at  this  point — that  we  admire  him  above  all 
others,  because  he  is,  more  than  all  others,  the  poet  of 
actual  existence. 

SHAKESPEARE'S  LEAR. 

*  The  story  of  Lear  was  originally  related  by  Geof 
frey  of  Monmouth,  and  thence  translated  in  "  Hol- 
inshead's  Chronicles/'  whence  Shakespeare  certainly 
derived  it ;  though  he  seems  to  have  been  more  in 
debted  to  an  anonymous  play,  entered  at  Stationers' 
Hall,  May  14th,  1594.  Several  passages  in  Shakespeare's 
Lear,  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  he  read  John  Higgins' 
poem  of  "  Queen  Cordela,"  in  part  i.  of  the  "  Mirror 
for  Magistrates,"  1587,  and  also  the  episode  of  "  Glou 
cester  and  Sons,"  as  well  as  the  "Narrative  of  the 
Blind  King  of  Paphlagonia,"  in  "  Sir  Philip  Sidney's 
Arcadia."  Shakespeare  composed  Lear  in  1603.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  of  this,  from  the  fact  that  he  uses  the 
names  of  certain  spirits  taken  from  Samuel  Hansnet's 
"  Declaration  of  Popish  Imposters,"  then  just  pub 
lished.  There  are  many  curious  facts  connected  with 
Lear.  The  story  of  Lear  bears  date  eight  hundred 
years  before  Christ.  He  was  the  eldest  son  of  Bladud, 
and  is  said  to  have  governed  "his  country  for  sixty 
years." 

In  1681,  Nahum  Tate's  edition  of  this  tragedy  ap 
peared  at  the  Duke's  Theatre,  in  which  the  fool  was 
omitted.  Coleman's  version,  in  1763,  was  a  failure. 

The  full  title  of  Shakespeare's  play  was,  "  History 
of  the  Life  and  Death  of  King  Lear  and  his  Three 
Daughters,  with  the  Unfortunate  Life  of  Edgar,  Sonne 


164  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

and  Heire  of  the  Earl  of  Gloucester,  and  his  Sullen 
and  Assumed  Humour  of  Tom  of  Bedlam.  As  it  was 
plaid  before  the  King's  Majesty  at  Whitehall  uppon 
St.  Stephen's  night,  in  Christmas  hollidaies.  By  his 
Majesty's  Servants,  playing  usually  at  the  Globe  on 
the  Bank  Side.  4to.  1608." 

Tate  and  Coleman's  we  have  alluded  to.  The  great 
play,  however,  upon  this  subject,  prior  to  the  time 
Shakespeare's  was  written,  is  the  one  dated  1594,  and 
entitled  "  The  True  Chronicle  History  in  King  Leir 
and  His  Three  Daughters,  Gonerill,  Began,  and  Cor 
delia.  As  it  hath  been  divers  and  sundry  times  lately 
acted.  4to.  1605."  Shakespeare's  Lear,  differs  ma 
terially  from  this  version. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  Shakespeare  borrowed  the 
idea  of  the  curse  from  the  (Edipus,  of  Sophocles, 
although  it  had  not  then  been  translated.  Shake 
speare  must  have  read  it  in  the  original,  if  he  read  it 
at  all.  The  similarity,  however,  is  not  so  striking  as 
to  accuse  him  of  plagiarism,  nor  so  startling  as  to 
lessen  his  claim  to  originality.  We  annex  a  portion 
from  (Edipus : 

"  Get  thee^hence,  thou  hast  no  father  here 
Detested  wretch — thou  vilest  of  the  vile — 
And  take  these  curses  with  thee  on  thy  head, 
"Which  I  call  down ;  by  arms  thy  native  land 
Never  may'st  thou  recover,  nor  again 
Visit  the  vales  of  Argos :  may'st  thou  die 
Slain  by  a  brother's  hand,  and  may  thy  hand 
Slay  him  by  whom  thou  art  to  exile  driv'n. 
These  curses  I  call  on  thee,  and  invoke 
The  parent  gloom  of  Erebus  abhorr'd, 
To  give  thee  in  his  dark  tartarian  realms 
A  mansion." 

The  curse  of  (Edipus  is  prophetic  of  the  fate  of  his 
sons.  To  give  the  terrible  one  of  Lear  otherwise  than 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FOEEEST.  165 

as  a  curse  would  destroy  all  its  terrible  meaning  and 
mar  its  power.  Lear  himself  says  :  "  'Tis  the  untented 
woundings  of  a  father's  curse" 

From  tradition  we  learn  that  Betterton  and  Barton 
Booth  rendered  the  curse  more  as  a  prayer  than  as  a 
terrible  imprecation.  Indeed,  there  are  those  who  con 
sider  it  in  that  light  still.  Those  who  so  construe  it 
are  not  Shakesperian  scholars,  or  versed  in  the  holiness 
of  prayer.  Garrick  gave  it  after  the  traditionary  man 
ner  of  Burbage,  with  fierce  and  rapid  vehemence. 
Kemble,  however,  uttered  it  as  a  curse,  made  up  of 
unmixed  wrath. 

Mr.  Forrest's  name  is  identified  with  the  char 
acter  of  Lear,  as  were  those  of  Burbage,  Betterton, 
Barton  Booth,  Garrick  and  Kemble.  Barton  Booth 
first  appeared  on  the  stage  in  1701.  He  was  celebrated 
in  Shakespeare's  Othello  and  Hamlet's  Ghost,  these 
being  his  master-pieces.  He  was  likewise  the  origi 
nal  Cato.  It  is  a  curious  fact  connected  with  all  the 
great  English  actors,  that  their  Lear,  if  we  except, 
perhaps,  Garrick,  never  created  so  much  excitement 
in  the  dramatic  world  as  has  that  of  Mr.  Forrest's. 
Betterton  and  Booth  were  considered  great  in  the  part, 
nor  was  it  until  1742  that  their  reputation  grew  dim 
beneath  the  blaze  of  genius  Garrick  threw  around  it. 
John.  P.  Kemble,  in  1801,  produced  his  own  adapta 
tion  of  the  tragedy  at  Drury  Lane,  and  at  Covent  Gar 
den,  in  1808. 

Mr.  Edwin  Forrest  re-created  Lear,  as  Kiche- 
lieu  did  France,  infusing  into  it  new  life,  new  power, 
and  carrying  out  to  the  very  letter  the  spirit  of  the 
author. 

One  great  feature  in  Mr.  Forrest's  impersonation 


166  LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FOREEST. 

was  his  identification  with  the  peculiar  characteristics 
of  the  part.  Lear  is  not  governed  by  one  passion 
alone  ;  there  is  a  blending  of  rage,  grief  and  indigna 
tion  and  what  may  be  termed  a  tumultuous  combina 
tion  of  them  altogether.  The  words  and  the  actions 
(as  far  as  the  author  conveys  them)  of  Lear  are  written 
out,  and  described  for  an  old  man  of  four-score  years, 
and  added  to  the  extraordinary  incidents  of  the  trag 
edy,  render  it  one  of  the  most  difficult  to  portray. 

"  Pray  do  not  mock  me. 
lam  a  very  foolish,  fond  old  man, 
Four-score  and  upward,  and  to  deal  plainly, 
I  fear  lam  not  in  my  perfect  mind." 

Act  IV.;  Scene  7. 

When  Forrest  enacted  King  Lear  in  New  York,  in 
1S27-'S,  William  Dunlap,  "the  father,"  so-called,  "of 
the  American  stage,"  speaking  of  this  performance  at 
the  time,  said : 

"  That  young  man  is  not  merely  superior  to  other  rep 
resentatives  of  Lear  of  the  present  day,  but  in  portraying 
the  passions,  sufferings  and  insanity  of  the  generous,  hasty, 
heart-broken  old  monarch,  with  a  degree  of  energy,  pathos 
and  fidelity,  he  even  surpasses  the  wonderful  efforts  of 
George  Frederick  Cooke." 

Leigh  Hunt  subsequently  endorsed  Dunlap's  opin 
ion,  by  saying  some  years  afterwards,  that  he  considered 
his  King  Lear  as  the  best  impersonation  of  the  charac 
ter  that  has  ever  been  given  on  the  English  stage 
within  his  recollection. 

There  was  one  feature  in  Mr.  Forrest's  Lear,  and 
that  is,  he  was  the  only  actor  who  ever  attempted  the 
herculean  task  of  carrying  out  the  physical  infirmity, 
as  well  as  the  irritability  of  Lear,  and  keeping  up  the 
nervous  tremor  and  the  varying  passions,  acting  upon 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKREST. 

old  age  from  the  first  to  last,  so  as  not  to  mar  the  har 
mony  existing  in  the  terrible  whirlwind  by  which  they 
are  agitated.  The  great  beauty  of  Mr.  Forrest's  Lear 
was  what  we  might  term  "artistic  harmony/'  Cooke's 
Lear,  never  could  stand  the  test  of  criticism.  He 
destroyed  all  harmony  of  words  and  action  by  a  sort  of 
rugged  rumbling,  and  what  musicians  call  staccato. 
Forrest's,  on  the  contrary,  was  harmonic,  and  given  in 
legato  —  denoting  smoothness.  Some  critics  have  ac 
cused  Mr.  Forrest  of  rant,  and  too  much  display  of  vio 
lence  and  uncontrolled  passion.  Lear  is  all  passion. 
"  Come  not  between  the  dragon  and  his  wrath,"  is  in 
itself  a  text  for  the  actor.  If  this  is  a  fault,  it  is  Shake 
speare,  and  not  the  actor,  who  is  to  blame.  In  Lear, 
as  in  Hamlet,  the  authors  object  was  to  represent  the 
beginning  and  course  of  insanity.  Old  age  struggling 
with  wrong  and  insult  is  one  of  the  startling  features 
of  this  great  tragedy. 

Lear,  in  the  early  scenes,  bears  but  the  scars  of 
mind  upon  his  brow — the  thought  of  years — not  their 
decrepitude.  His  course  had  been  one  of  might  and 
power,  and  he  determines  to  maintain  them.  The 
scene  with  Kent,  in  Act  I.,  shows  this,  as  also  his  fearful 
curse  on  Goneril.  Here  we  have  the  monarch  a  dragon 
in  his  wrath ;  but  when  the  startling  facts  break  upon 
him  that  his  children  are  turned  traitors  to  his  will, 
reason  receives  an  additional  blow,  and  the  old  king 
totters  to  his  ruin.  Mr.  Forrest  never  for  a  single 
moment  lost  sight  of  the  physical  and  mental  condition 
of  Lear  ;  hence  he  gave  the  insane  portions  so  true  to 
nature  that  they  appalled  the  audience,  and  we  behold 
him — though  crowned  with  a  wreath  of  straw — "  every 
inch  a  king." 


1G8  LIFE-  OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

Mr,  Forrest  had  studied  the  theory  of  insanity  with 
a  student's  care — a  knowledge  of  which  is  so  essential  to 
a  proper  delineation  of  several  of  the  characters  in  the 
plays  of  Shakespeare.  It  was  this  knowledge  that 
made  his  Hamlet  the  Hamlet  of  Shakespeare,  and  gave 
to  that  of  Macbeth,  its  psychological  cast,  and  illus 
trates  the  true  theory  of  apparitions — the  mind's  disease. 
"Is  this  a  dagger  which  I  see  before  me  ?"  is  one  of 
the  visions  the  condition  of  the  mind  conjures  up.  It 
was  this  knowledge  that  gave  Mr.  Forrest  an  advan 
tage  over  others  far  less  studious.  He  made  the  study 
of  insanity  a  specialty,  visited  insane  asylums  and  other 
places  both  here  and  in  Europe,  and  with  artistic  exact 
ness,  carried  out  in  his  renditions  all  those  mental  pe 
culiarities  and  eccentricities  that  critics  recognize  as 
truthful,  and  not  as  the  mere  ebullitions  of  a  disposi 
tion  and  temper  naturally  fiery  and  irritable.  Our 
readers — many  of  them,  at  least — will  remember  the 
terrible  scene  in  Lear,  where  he  appears  fantasti 
cally  dressed,  and  exclaims  : — "  No  !  they  cannot  touch 
me,  for  I  am  the  king  himself ! " 

The  pauses  in  Mr.  Forrest's  readings  have  been 
quoted  as  faults.  Pauses  are  not  unfrequently  the 
lights  and  shades  of  sentences  that  give  effect  to  imper 
sonations  ;  Shakespeare  himself  says : 

"  Give  me  leave  to  read  philosophy, 
And  while  I  pause  serve  in  your  harmony." 

In  Lear,  we  see  the  ebb  and  flow  of  feeling,  its 
pauses  and  feverish  starts,  its  impatience  of  opposi 
tion,  and  its  accumulating  force.  The  passion  of  Lear 
is  like  the  tempest — it  has  its  pauses  and  its  outbreaks. 
"  Blow  winds  and  crack  your  cheeks  !  rage  !  blow  ! "  etc., 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOEEEST.  169 

is  one  of  the  loftiest  examples  of  apostrophe  that  is  to 
be  found  in  the  English  language.  Then  comes  the 
pause  in  the  tempest.  "My  wits  began  to  fail."  It  is 
here  the  power  of  Mr.  Forrest  shone  forth  in  fearful 
grandeur — it  is  here  by  action  he  conveyed  to  the  audi 
ence  the  foreshadowing  of  Lear's  madness.  The  twitch 
ing  of  the  fingers — the  motion  of  the  body — the  press 
ing  together  of  the  hands — in  fact,  every  peculiar  trait 
denoting  insanity — told  that  the  mind  of  Lear  was 
gone.  This  scene  kept  the  house  spell-bound;  the 
silence  throughout  was  painful. 

"  Come  on,  boy !  how  dost  my  boy  ?     Art  cold  ? 
I  am  cold  myself." 

These  words  were  uttered  in  tones  that  no  other 
actor  we  ever  heard  was  capable  of  giving.  A  writer 
once  said  that  the  Lear  of  Shakespeare  cannot  be  acted. 
It  is  true  that  the  greatness  of  Lear  is  beyond  the  reach 
of  common  minds  ;  it  is  full  of  intellect,  madness,  pas 
sion  and  insanity,  dramatically  worked  up.  To  give 
these  it  required  a  Garrick,  a  Cooke  and  a  Kean  in 
England,  but  it  remained  for  our  own  country  to  give 
us  a  Lear  that  eclipsed  them  all.  Forrest's  Lear  lives 
with  the  fame  of  Shakespeare. 

We  give  a  few  extracts  from  articles  written  by  us 
at  various  times  during  Mr.  Forrest's  performance  of 
Lear.  They  were  written  long  before  our  personal 
relations  with  the  great  actor  commenced.  Nothing  that 
we  ever  wrote  since  spoke  more  favorably  of  him  than 
what  we  said  then.  He  ivas  at  all  times  a  great  actor. 

[FIRST  EXTRACT.] 

"  The  great  beauty  of  Mr.  Forrest's  Lear  is  what  we 
might  term  '  artistic  harmony.'  Cooke's  Lear  never  could 
stand  the  test  of  criticism.  He  destroyed  all  harmony  of 


170  LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

words  and  action  by  a  sort  of  rugged  rumbling,  and  what 
musicians  call  staccato,  resembling  more  a  watchman's 
rattle  than  anything  else  in  nature.  And  yet  Cooke  was 
great  in  one  or  two  things ;  one  was  where  he  says  :  c  JVo, 
Regan,  thou  shalt  never  have  my  curse,'  and  the  other 
where  he  exclaims : — '  Who  put  my  man  $  the  stocks  f  ' 
In  the  loftier  passages  of  Lear  he  was  not  great.  The 
character  of  Lear  has  been  drawn  by  Shakespeare,  bold, 
warm-hearted  and  direct ;  if  for  a  moment  he  smothers  his 
rage,  he  never  conceals  it;  his  passion,  when  most  repressed, 
is  a  subterraneous  wind  that  is  heard  with  a  deep  sound 
as  it  rushes  along;  when  that  passion  is  released,  it  is 
indeed,  a  '  tempest,'  and  as  you  may  say  a  '  whirlwind/ 
And  yet  there  is  music  in  it — wild  and  fearful  music. 
Such  is  Lear — such  Mr.  Forrest's  conception,  such  his  ren 
dition.  Our  readers  will  understand  that  we  have  never 
praised  nor  spoken  in  commendatory  terms  of  Mr.  Forrest, 
unless  he  came  up  to  our  notion  of  how  and  in  what  man 
ner  a  part  should  be  played.  We  have  tradition  for  our 
comparisons,  and  a  proper  appreciation  of  true  art  to  dis 
tinguish  between  the  two  extremes — good  and  bad.  Nor 
do  we  rely  upon  our  own  judgment  altogether,  critically 
speaking,  but  the  effect  good  acting  has  upon  us  physically 
as  well  as  mentally.  Impressions  from  the  seal  of  genius, 
like  those  on  the  device  of  a  picture,  live  on  with  us 
through  life.  The  artist  may  devise  a  new  one,  but  the 
first  still  remains.  Mr.  Forresfs  Lear  was  great.  This 
opinion  the  public  '  has  sealed  with  its  seal.' 

"Mr.  Forrest's  mad  scene  surpassed  all  his  former 
efforts.  From  his  first  entrance  into  the  forest  until  the 
last,  it  was  one  continued  chain  of  wild  grandeur.  The 
audience  listened  entranced — pent  up  feeling,  feelings  of 
sorrow,  sympathy  with  his  grief,  seemed  ready  to  give  vent 
in  tears ;  and  had  it  continued,  we  feel  satisfied  that  a  sense 
of  overpowering  nature  would  have  outspoken- — grief 
would  have  had  vent." 

[SECOND   EXTRACT.] 

"  Mr.  Forrest's  King  Lear  has  never  been  equalled. 
We  have  seen  all  the  great  actors  in  the  part  since  1815, 
and  never  in  a  single  instance,  found  one  that  could  grasp, 
with  a  master's  hand,  all  those  terrible  elements  of  passion 
with  which  it  abounds,  as  he  does.  Lear,  in  every  age 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FORREST.  171 

since  its  introduction  on  the  stage,  has  been  considered  one 
of  the  most  difficult  characters  of  Shakespeare.  Chilled 
from  age,  choleric,  peevish  and  overbearing,  with  sufficient 
cause  to  make  him  so,  the  actor  who  attempts  its  delin 
eation  must  be  quick  of  conception,  skilful  and  ready  to 
depict  these  several  characteristics. 

"Some  critics  have  endeavored  to  parallel  the  terrific 
curse  of  Lear,  with  that  of  CEdipus  upon  his  sons  in  the 
1  CEdipus  Coloneus '  of  Sophocles,  but  there  is  no  compari 
son.  The  one  is  prophetic  of  the  fate  of  his  offspring,  the 
other  appeals  to  universal  feeling,  working  on  the  ungrate 
ful  child,  as  he  imagines,  pangs  similar  to  those  which  she 
inflicts. 

"  Readers  of  the  Bible  have  no  difficulty  in  tracing  to 
its  hallowed  pages  many  of  the  beautiful  as  well  as  the  ter 
rible  passages  which  abound  in  the  plays  of  Shakespeare. 
Job  furnishes  several,  and  the  ClXth  Psalm  may  be 
quoted  as  furnishing  materials  for  the  curse  of  Lear." 

[THIRD  EXTRACT.] 

"  Taken  in  all,  it  was  a  grand  performance.  The  man 
who  can  play  Lear  as  it  deserves  to  be  played,  must  not 
only  possess  high  genius,  fine  taste  and  uncommon  physical 
energy,  but  he  must  have  passed  into  the  shadows  of  age, 
and  endured  sharp  trial  and  bitter  sorrow.  Mr.  Forrest 
has  all  these  requisites,  and  they  blend  together  in  an  im 
pressive  picture  whose  sombre  yet  powerful  colors  are 
stamped  upon  the  soul  of  him  who  looks  thereon.  The 
tremendous  grief  of  the  crownless  king,  his  awful  wrath, 
his  madness,  his  tears,  his  death — all  these  are  drawn  with 
a  wonderful  vividness  and  reality,  which  go  straight  to  the 
heart.  We  remember  nothing  more  touching  on  the  stage 
than  the  struggles  of  the  poor  old  man  when  he  feels 
reason  tottering  upon  her  throne,  and  then  yielding  to  the 
irresistible  pressure  of  a  mighty  woe,  sinks  into  the  semi- 
oblivion  of  a  harmless  lunacy.  And  in  the  climax  of  the 
closing  scene,  where  he  bends  over  the  corpse  of  his  daugh 
ter,  looks  into  her  still  eyes,  presses  her  pulseless  heart, 
watches  for  the  dumb  lips  to  open  once  more,  and  then 
whispers,  in  broken,  tremulous  voice :  '  Cordelia  !  Corde 
lia  !  stay  a  little ! '  what  an  infinite  depth  of  pathos  is 
there  in  it  all !  It  is  the  sublimity  of  sorrow,  the  acme  of 
an  anguish  whose  appropriate  consummation  is  death." 


172  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOREEST. 

[FOURTH  EXTRACT.] 

"  Mr.  Forrest's  King  Lear  is  one  of  his  best  parts,  and 
he  stands  alone  the  Lear  of  his  time.  From  the  moment 
he  appears  on  the  stage  until  the  final  close  of  this  great 
tragedy,  he  never  loses  sight  of  the  true  character  of  Lear. 
His  bursts  of  passion  are  beyond  the  power  of  pen  to  de 
scribe  ;  they  are  the  outbreaks  of  an  abused  man  driven  to 
desperation  by  the  cruel  treatment  of  his  daughters.  Mr. 
Forrest's  delineation  of  the  choleric  king  is  so  extremely 
natural,  that  his  individuality  is  lost  in  the  masterly  por 
traiture  he  presents  us  with.  Perhaps  there  is  not  in  the 
whole  range  of  dramatic  writing  anything  to  equal  the  ter 
rific  curse  in  Act  I.  There  is  no  attempt  to  make  the  mere 
dramatic  art  subservient  to  the  actor's  purpose  solely,  but 
it  is  to  give  us  Lear  and  Shakespeare,  and  not  Lear  and  the 
actor.  Mr.  Forrest's  great  starting-point  in  Lear,  is  where 
he  utters  the  curse  on  Goneril,  Act  I.  Let  any  one  not  a 
theatre-goer,  read  this  awful  malediction,  and  then  imagine 
what  an  effect  it  would  have  on  an  audience  when  given 
by  Mr.  Forrest.  It  is  sublime  even  in  the  terror  it  creates. 
Mr.  Forrest's  utterance  of  this  passage  is,  perhaps,  the 
most  startling  and  thrilling  that  was  ever  heard  upon  the 
stage ;  there  is  no  dramatic  preparation  for  its  coming,  no 
foreshadowing  it  by  any  inaction  previous;  it  comes  upon 
us  a  part  and  portion  of  the  great  play  in  all  its  terrific 
grandeur.  Age  in  anger,  age  in  arms  to  crush  base  ingrati 
tude,  age  in  passion,  yet  governed  by  reason,  throws  itself 
on  its  knees  and  exclaims  in  awful  wrath  — '  Hear,  nature, 
hear.  Dear  Goddess,  hear ! '  then  he  invokes  the  curse, 
during  which  the  house  was  hushed  into  silence,  the  audi 
ence  seemed  to  feel  the  oppression,  for  the  very  air  was 
stilled ;  and  a  sense  of  some  powerful  influence  pervading, 
held  the  breath  as  it  were  in  abeyance.  As  he  progressed 
in  its  utterance,  he  arose  in  grandeur,  awful  in  his  terrible 
sublimity ;  and  when  he  reached  its  climax,  and  exclaimed, 
'  Away !  away  ! '  the  audience  awoke  as  from  a  fearful 
spell,  and  sound  again  broke  upon  the  awful  stillness  which 
its  delivery  caused. 

"In  the  third  act,  where  his  mind  totters  between 
reason  and  madness,  he  held  the  audience  spell-bound  by 
the  magic  of  his  art.  His  defiance  of  the  elements  was 
grand  and  magnificent ;  it  was  Ajax-like,  gigantic,  awful, 
fearful  in  its  sublimity. 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  173 

"  Throughout  the  part,  Mr.  Forrest  never  for  a  moment 
missed  the  '  cue '  of  age.  He  looked  a  king,  *  aye,  every 
inch  a  king,'  even  in  his  moods  of  grief.  We  do  not 
speak  of  Mr.  Forrest's  Lear  as  a  production  of  to-day,  nor 
do  we  say  that  he  plays  it  better  now  than  he  did  years 
ago.  Then,  as  now,  he  was  the  finished  artist,  and  those 
who  speak  of  faults  to  be  corrected  under  their  instruction, 
have  other  motives,  which  sway  their  opinions,  than  those 
which  constitute  the  basis  of  that  peculiar  art  called  crit 
icism.  The  man,  not  the  artist,  is  the  target  of  their 
venomed  shaft." 

We  might  follow  Mr.  Forrest  through  each,  and 
every  scene  of  this  great  play,  and  point  out  passages 
which  struck  us  as  being  of  great  force  and  power ;  but 
to  speak  of  his  Lear  in  detached  parts,  is  not  our  pur 
pose,  as  it  would  seem  to  question  its  general  and  har 
monic  whole,  not  only  as  a  great  piece  of  dramatic  art, 
but  conveying  to  us,  by  the  power  of  genius,  the  origi 
nal  by  a  seeming  optical  illusion.  Where  everything 
was  so  grand,  so  imposing  and  so  natural,  it  would  be 
a  very  difficult  matter  for  the  most  astute  critic  to  dis 
tinguish  one  single  brighter  gem  than  those  from  the 
brilliant  cluster  he  presents  to  us.  In  connection  with 
Mr.  Forrest's  Lear,  we  annex  the  following  incident, 
which  occurred  in  New  Orleans  some  thirty  years  ago, 
on  the  occasion  of  his  playing  King  Lear  in  that  city. 
During  the  utterance  of  the  curse  we  heard  a  strange 
sound  proceeding  from  a  gentleman  sitting  beside  us — 
a  sound  so  strange  and  unnatural,  which  induced  us  to 
turn  suddenly  round.  The  fearful  words  of  the  curse 
were  ringing  in  our  ears  as  uttered  by  the  only  living 
actor  capable  of  giving  it  with  that  fierceness  and  rapid 
vehemence  so  essential  to  render  it  effective.  That  it 
was  so  in  this  instance  there  was  no  mistake.  To  our 
horror,  we  found  the  eyes  of  the  gentleman  fixed,  his 


174  LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FORREST. 

mouth  open,  and  a  death-like  paleness  overspreading 
his  face.  His  hands  were  clenched  together,  and  it  was 
evident  that  all  voluntary  motion  was  suspended.  In 
stinctively  we  caught  him  by  the  shoulders,  and  with  a 
sudden  jerk,  caused  a  reaction  of  the  blood.  He  gave 
a  gasp,  and  uttered  a  deep,  heavy  sigh.  As  he  gazed 
around,  it  was  like  one  awaking  from  a  troubled  sleep. 
The  awful  curse,  so  fearfully  uttered,  was  still  ringing 
in  his  ears.  It  had  taken  away  the  man's  breath,  and 
my  shaking  him  caused  him  to  recover.  "  One  moment 
more,  sir,"  he  said,  "  and  I  should  have  been  a  dead 
man."  Looking  towards  the  stage,  he  continued  :  "  Is 
he  gone  ?  ''  Being  answered  that  the  terrible  old  man 
was  not  there,  he,  like  Richard,  "  was  himself  again." 

King  Lear  was  first  played  in  this  country,  January 
14th,  1754,  and  as  a  matter  of  dramatic  history,  we 
give  a  copy  of  the  original  cast : 

KING  LEAR MB.  MALONE. 

KENT MR.  HALLAM. 

GLOSTER MR.  BELL. 

EDGAR MR.  SINGLETON. 

EDMUND MR.  CL  ARKSON. 

CORNWALL MR.  MILLER. 

ALBANY MR.  ADCOCK. 

BURGUNDY MR.  HULETT. 

USHER MR.  RIGBY. 

ATTENDANTS MASTERS  HALLAM. 

CORDELIA MRS.  HALLAM. 

BEGAN MRS.  ADCOCK. 

GONERIL Miss  BECCELEY. 

PANTHER  . .  . .  MRS.  RIGBY. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

MR.    FORREST    A    STUDENT. — MEN    WITH    WHOM     HE   AS 
SOCIATED. DAMON,    HIS     GREAT    TRIUMPH     IN     THE 

PART.  —  VIRGINIUS.  —  ENGLISH    CRITICISM.  —  CORIO- 
LANUS. RICHELIEU. 

IV/TE.  FORREST'S  position  before  the  American 
-  people,  in  the  years  1828,  '30,  '31,  was  one  that, 
while  it  astonished  the  English  clique,  delighted  his 
friends,  and  it  required  all  his  energy  and  genius  to 
maintain  it.  The  school  in  which  he  was  educated, 
the  associations  he  had  formed  in  his  western  tour,  and 
his  limited  time  for  study,  were  considered  as  so  many 
drawbacks  to  his  future  success.  How  he  studied,  when 
and  where,  and  acquired,  as  it  were,  the  mastery  over 
the  elements  of  the  dramatic  art,  are  questions  that  the 
midnight  lamp,  which  saw  him  hovering  over  old 
tomes,  old  plays,  and  the  annotations  from  gifted 
minds,  alone  can  answer.  Forrest  did  not,  at  one 
period  of  his  career,  like  the  elder  Booth,  A.  A.  Addams, 
and  others,  associate  with  the  lowest  of  the  profession, 
or  the  "  oyster  critics  "  of  the  press.  He  formed  the 
acquaintance  of  such  men  as  George  P.  Morris,  M.  M. 
Noah,  William  C.  Bryant,  William  Leggett,  James 
Dunlap,  Joseph  R.  Ingersoll,  Jesse  R.  Burden,  Morton 
McMichael,  Chief-Justice  Gibson,  Judge  Rogers,  Col. 
John  Swift,  Dr.  Samuel  Jackson,  Louis  A.  Godey, 
John  W.  Forney,  Henry  Clay,  George  M.  Dallas,  Daniel 

(175) 


176  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

Webster,  and  his  idol  of  Democracy,  and  of  a  Man — 
General  Andrew  Jackson.  We  do  not  give  these 
names  as  myths  in  his  catalogue  of  associates,  advisers, 
and  friends ;  but  names  of  men  who  took  a  pride  in  the 
rising  genius  of  the  American  stage. 

Forrest  spent  many  a  pleasant  hour  with  Old 
Hickory,  at  the  Hermitage,  and  held  converse  with  the 
most  talented  men  of  the  country.  These  were  men, 
gentlemen,  who  had  no  other  object  in  view,  when  they 
took  young  Forrest  by  the  hand,  than  to  advance  him 
in  the  profession  he  had  adopted.  They  could  well  say 
with  Hamlet : 

"  Nay,  do  not  think  I  natter ; 
For  what  advancement  may  I  hope  from  thee, 
That  no  revenue  hast,  but  thy  good  spirits, 
To  feed  and  clothe  thee  ?     Why  should  the  poor  be  flatter'd  ?  " 

They  did  not  "crook  the  pregnant  hinges  of  the 
knee  where  thrift  may  follow  fawning/'  but  made  his 
pathway  to  fame  and  fortune  pleasant  by  proper  en 
couragement  and  advice.  These  he  did  not  disregard ; 
hence  success. 

From  the  time  he  achieved  a  triumph  in  the  char 
acter  of  Damon,  over  the  impression  Cooper  had  made 
upon  the  public,  he  bounded  upward,  coming  forth 
from  obscurity  as  it  were,  Pallas-like,  fully  panoplied 
to  battle  in  the  "  Mimic  World,"  and  he  was  carried 
along  the  stream  of  time  by  the  mere  efforts  of  his 
genius,  guided  by  a  strong  will,  until  he  reached  the 
topmost  round  of  the  dramatic  ladder,  upon  whose 
pinnacle  was  the  word — "  EXCELSIOR  !  " 

We  have  alluded  to  Forrest's  Damon,  in  connection 
with  which  let  us  speak  of  his  Brutus.  Mr.  Forrest 
was  no  imitator — his  style  was  entirely  original.  His 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORBES  T.  177 

declamatory  powers  were  of  a  most  startling  character, 
and  his  frenzied  passion,  as  evidenced  in  Brutus,  were 
truly  appalling.  An  unanimous  cry  of  "bravo  !"  not 
unfrequently  burst  from  the  audience,  elicited  by  the 
beauty,  force,  and  power  of  the  delivery  of  thrilling 
passages.  We  well  remember  his  Brutus  (John  How 
ard  Payne's  Brutus),  the  Brntus  of  his  prime,  as  it  was 
for  all  time.  We  well  remember  the  deep  and  smother 
ed  rage  of  the  rising  storm  as  it  gathered  force  to  hurl 
destruction  on  the  tyrants  of  Rome  ;  before  us  stands 
the  stern  avenger  of  his  country's  wrongs  ;  we  hear  the 
deep  tones  of  his  rich  and  mellow  voice,  in  that  great 
struggle  between  a  father's  love  and  love  of  country. 

"  Nature  must  have  way ; 
I  will  perform  all  that  a  Roman  should  ; 
I  cannot  feel  less  than  a  father  ought." 

These  lines  we're  delivered  with  so  much  feeling 
that  tears  were  freely  shed  by  the  spell-bound  audience. 
Brutus  was  Forrest's  great  and  first  effort  in  Roman 
characters ;  but,  to  make  his  footing  sure,  Damon  had 
to  be  essayed.  Cooper's  Damon  had  stood  the  test  of 
all  the  critics  of  the  day.  His  figure,  his  face,  his 
voice  breathing  forth  the  high-toned  grandeur  of 
human  greatness,  blended  with  harmony,  all  combined 
to  make  his  impersonations  of  the  Roman  characters 
master  pictures  of  the  art.  He  might  have  been  sur 
passed  by  Kean  as  Lear,  Othello,  and  Richard  III. ;  but 
as  Damon,  Coriolanus,  and  Virginius,  he  had  then  no 
equal  in  the  world !  Kean  was  eminently  successful  as 
Richard  and  Othello  ;  but  when  he  would  rival  Cooper 
in  the  proud  unbending  characters  of  the  Roman  school 
— those  godlike  spirits  who  rose  out  of  the  desolation 
of  war — who  brooded  over  the  ruins  of  their  country's 
11 


178  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

greatness,  or  triumphed  over  the  vestiges  of  their  own 
blighted  fortunes — whose  mighty  souls  bore  up  amidst 
the  ruins  and  sorrows  of  a  nation,  and  finally  gave 
freedom  to  the  people,  and  prosperity  to  the  land — it 
was  here,  and  only  here,  Kean  and  his  imitators  failed, 
and  Cooper  stood  alone,  the  noblest  Koman  of  them 
all.  Such  was  the  reputation  of  Cooper,  when  Edwin 
Forrest,  the  youthful  athlete  of  the  dramatic  ring, 
stepped  forth  to  compete  with  him  in  Koman  charac 
ters.  We  shall  never  forget  his  first  essay  as  Damon, 
when  as  an  acknowledged  star,  he  appeared  before  the 
largest  audience  ever  assembled  within  the  walls  of 
a  theatre.  From  that  night  he  was  the  acknowledged 
Damon  of  the  American  stage. 

We  remember  as  if  it  were  but  yesterday,  instead 
of  almost  a  half  century,  the  effect  produced  in  what 
is  called  "the  Lucullus  scene."  It  is  where  he  calls  for 
his  horse ;  the  slave  hesitates.  Damon  repeats  his  re 
quest,  yet  Lucullus  stirs  not  ;  and  when  his  master 
sternly  commands  him  to  obedience,  the  trembling  slave 
tells  what  he  had  done  : — 

Luc.  "  "When  I  beheld  the  means  of  saving  you, 
I  could  not  hold  my  hand — my  heart  was  in  it ; 
And  in  my  heart,  the  hope  of  giving  life 
And  liberty  to  Damon ;  and — 

Damon.  Go  on, 
I  am  listening  to  thee. 

Luc.  And  in  the  hope  to  save  you, 
I  slew  your  steed. 

Damon.  Almighty  gods  ! " 

As  he  uttered  the  expression,  "Almighty  gods!" 
he  stood  the  picture  of  mute  despair.  Lucullus  gazes 
upon  the  terrible  look  and  convulsive  movements  of 
his  master  in  silent  horror.  Directly  the  delirious  fury 
of  Damon  is  turned  upon  his  slave ;  for  a  moment  his 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FORREST.  179 

eyes,  like  those  of  a  tiger  ready  to  spring  upon  his  prey, 
are  fixed  on  the  trembling  victim  ;  in  the  next  he  seizes 
him  by  the  throat.  The  slave  struggles,  but  in  vain. 
The  hands  of  his  master  are  upon  him ;  his  screams 
avail  not.  The  desperate  Damon  drags  him  towards  a 
yawning  precipice  ;  his  eyes  flash  maniac  fires — his  fea 
tures  convulsed — the  slave  struggling,  but  in  vain,  to 
escape  the  dreadful  doom  before  him.  During  the 
scene  the  audience  were  held  spell-bound ;  nor  was  it 
until  the  master  and  slave  disappeared,  that  the  pent- 
up  feelings  gave  way  and  the  intensity  caused  by  the 
scene  found  vent  in  a  suppressed  sigh  of  relief.  The 
next  grand  scene  in  this  play,  so  full  of  "  natural  glory/' 
is  where  Damon  reaches  the  scaffold  in  time  to  save 
Pythias  from  the  death  his  friendship  for  his  friend  was 
about  to  bring  upon  him.  They  meet ;  they  embrace  ; 
the  voice  of  Dionysius  is  heard  calling  "Damon!"  who, 
when  he  hears  it,  rushes  towards  the  scaffold  and 
ascends  it.  Drawing  his  figure  proudly  up  he  gazes  for 
a  moment  upon  the  spectators  with  unflinching  eyes : 
then  turning  toward  the  place  whence  the  voice  came, 
exclaims : 

"  Damon  is  here — look  at  mo. 
I  am  standing  on  my  throne — as  proud  a  one 
As  yon  illumined  mountain,  when  the  sun 
Makes  his  last  stand.     Let  him  look  on  me  too ; 
He  never  did  behold  a  spectacle 
More  full  of  natural  glory. 
All  Syracuse  starts  up  upon  her  hills, 
Arid  lifts  her -hundred  thousands  hands.     (SJiouts  Tieard.) 
She  shouts !     Hark,  how  she  shouts.     Oh,  Dionysius, 
When  wert  thou  in  thy  life  hailed  with  a  peal 
Of  hearts  and  hands  like  that  ?     Shout  again — 
Again — until  the  mountains  echo  back  your  clamor, 
And  the  great  sea  joins  in  that  mighty  voice. 
Tell  me,  slaves,  where  is  your  tyrant  ? 
Why  stands  he  hence  aloof — where  is  your  master — 
What  is  become  of  Dionysius  ? 
I  would  behold  and  laugh  at  him." 


180  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

As  the  recollection  of  Mr.  Forrest's  Damon  is  so 
fresh  in  the  memory  of  our  readers,  and  who  can  bear 
witness  to  its  greatness,  it  is  unnecessary  for  us  to  say 
more. 

VIRGINIUS. 

In  no  other  character,  if  we  except  Coriolanus,  has 
the  actor's  figure  and  general  bearing  been  shown  to 
such  advantage  as  it  is  in  Virginius.  The  massive, 
yet  compact  form — the  bold,  free  drawing  of  the  frame 
(to  speak  in  a  painter's  phrase) — the  surprising 
strength  and  the  ponderous  grace  which  Mr.  Forrest 
displayed  in  this  character,  presented  to  the  audience 
the  most  perfect  picture  of  a  Koman  hero  that  was 
ever  displayed  on  the  stage.  During  Mr.  Forrest's 
last  engagement  in  Philadelphia  (1871),  we  wrote  a 
notice  of  his  Virginius,  from  which  we  make  the  fol 
lowing  extract : 

"  In  the  earlier  scenes  where  domestic  ease  and  paren 
tal  affection  blend  with  the  martial  roughness  of  the 
warrior,  Mr.  Forrest  pleased  us  much.  The  picture  scene 
was  full  of  familiar  touches,  and  truth  of  feeling.  In  the 
passage,  too,  where  Virginius  prepares  for  the  dreadful 
rescue  of  his  daughter's  honor,  the  calm,  natural  tone  of 
voice  gave  a  terrible  significance  to  the  brief  arrangements 
for  the  deed.  When  he  sent  Icilius  to  join  his  friends,  for 
instance,  Mr.  Forrest  delivered  the  command  in  that  tone 
of  calm  urgency  which  people  assume  under  an  impend 
ing  calamity;  giving  to  monstrous  events  an  air  of  danger 
blended  with  the  certainty  of  averting  them.  When  Vir 
ginius  says  to  his  daughter,  il  hope  you  never  play  the 
truant ! '  it  was  with  the  fond  raillery  of  an  affectionate 
parent.  Conscious  of  the  truth  of  his  child,  he  asks  the 
question,  knowing  the  reply  she  would  make.  Mr.  For 
rest,  during  this  passage,  was  beyond  description;  it  was 
a  gem :  '  You  are  so  happy  when  I  am  kind  to  you  !  Am 
I  not  ahcays  kind?  I  never  spoke  an  angry  word  to  you  in 
all  my  life,  Virginia]  etc.  And  '  whose  face  is  this  you 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  181 

have  given  to  Achilles  V  was  asked  not  angrily,  or  as  a  de 
mand,  but  in  the  manner  of  curious  inquiry.  We  remem 
ber  Mr.  Hamblin  in  this  scene,  making  the  inquiry  in  a 
tone  of  anger,  startling  Virginia  by  his  harshness.  Mr. 
Forrest  was  very  fine  in  the  scene  where  he  gives  Virginia 
in  marriage  to  Icilius.  Also  grand  in  the  one  wherein  Lu 
cius  informs  him  he  is  summoned  to  Rome  to  answer  to  the 
charge  of  Caius  Claudius.  *  Did  he  not  strike  him  dead? ' 
came  from  the  lips  of  Mr.  Forrest  as  man  never  uttered 
them.  Not  Cooper,  the  Virgin  ins  of  his  day,  equalled 
Mr.  Forrest  in  this,  the  most  exciting  scene  in  the  play. 
The  scene  in  the  forum  awed  the  house  into  silence,  and 
when  the  eyes  of  Virginius  rested  on  the  knife  as  it  laid  on 
the  shambles,  the  pent-up  feelings  of  the  audience  gave 
vent  by  a  sigh  of  relief,  for  they  saw,  what  Virginius  did, 
the  means,  and  the  only  means,  of  saving  the  honor  of  his 
child." 

An  English  critic,  speaking  of  Mr.  Forrest's  Virgin 
ius,  at  Drury  Lane,  said  : 

"  In  the  passage,  too,  where  Virginius  prepares  for  the 
dreadful  rescue  of  his  daughter's  honor,  the  calm  natural 
tone  of  voice  gave  terrible  significance  to  the  brief  arrange 
ments  of  the  deed.  *  *  Sheridan  Knowles,  the  author, 
played  Dentatus.  Mr.  Matthews  is  a  respectable  and 
useful  actor;  but  he  looks  so  very  ?m-Roman  in  Appius 
Claudius,  and  is  so  deficient  in  animal  spirits  and  lusty 
imperiousness,  that  the  groundwork  of  the  story  lost  in 
probability  what  it  gained  in  odiousness  by  the  tame  and 
premeditated  viciousness  of  the  Decemvir.  Such  a  man 
as  Mr.  Matthews's  Appius  was  not  the  one  to  carry  his 
schemes  of  luxurious  outrage  by  public  force,  and  in  the 
face  of  danger — more  especially  when  opposed  to  such  a 
presence  as  that  of  Mr.  Forrest  hi  Virginius." 

CORIOLANUS. 

The  materials  of  this  great  drama  were  derived 
chiefly  from  the  memoirs  of  Coriolanus,  contained  in 
the  "  lives  of  the  noble  Grecians  and  Romans,"  com 
pared  together  by  that  grave,  learned  philosopher  and 


182  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKREST. 

historiographer,  Plutarch  of  Choeronea,  translated  by 
Thomas  North,  Esq.,  1579,  and  this  one  great  hero  was 
selected  from  the  others  by  Shakespeare  for  immortal 
ity.  The  character  is  one  that  few  actors  attempt — 
indeed,  there  are  but  few  capable  of  rendering  it  in  a 
manner  calculated  to  impress  it  with  the  Roman  attri 
butes  of  the  hero.  Mr.  Cooper  and  Mr.  Forrest  are  the 
only  two  who  made  the  character  a  stage  illusion  by  a 
truthful  picture  of  this  superb  production  of  the  great 
master  of  arts — Shakespeare. 

In  1864,  during  Mr.  Forrest's  engagement  at  the 
"Academy  of  Music/'  in  Philadelphia,  we  wrote  an  ex 
tended  notice  of  his  Coriolanus,  from  which  we  make 
the  following  extracts : 

"Monday  evening,  November  21st,  1864,  will  long  be 
remembered  in  dramatic  annals.  It  will  form  an  era  in  the 
drama,  and  add  another  page  to  its  history. 

"  The  Academy  of  Music  was  literally  crammed  on  this 
occasion,  to  witness  Mr.  Edwin  Forrest  reappear,  after 
many  years,  in  his  great  character  of  Coriolanus,  It  was 
placed  upon  the  stage  in  a  manner  and  style  of  excellence 
never  surpassed.  The  stage  throughout  the  action  of  the 
piece  gave  us  a  view  of  Rome  in  her  grandeur,  and  the 
artistes  in  the  play  peopled  it  with  the  characters  and 
personages,  of  the  day ;  the  present  was  forgotten — the 
imagination  swayed  by  the  illusion  of  the  whole  scene, 
and  the  action  of  the  play,  carried  us  back  to  Rome,  and 
the  territories  of  the  Volscians  and  the  Antiales. 

"  Coriolanus,  is  not  a  familiar  stage  piece.  Not  be 
cause  it  is  deficient  in  any  of  those  dramatic  elements 
which  constitute  a  perfect  whole,  but  from  the  fact  that  few 
artistes  are  enabled  to  grasp  them,  and  bring  their  con 
flicting  physical  and  mental  qualities  together.  Coriola 
nus  is  one  vast  store-house  of  phrases,  from  the  political, 
common-place  language  of  the  rabble  to  the  high-toned 
argumentative  reasoning  of  the  hero,  wherein,  as  Hazlitt 
says, '  The  language  of  poetry  naturally  falls  in  with  lan 
guage  of  power.' 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FOEEEST.  183 

"Mr.  Forrest's  early  impersonation  of  this  character,  that 
is,  years  ago,  when  youth  excused  exaggeration,  was  sim 
ply  a  creature  of  his  elocutionary  teaching.  It  had  the 
peculiarities  of  a  school  that  has  done  more  to  spoil  actors 
than  ever  was  accomplished  by  injudicious  criticism.  And 
this  is  saying  a  great  deal.  But  as  he  threw  off  the  trap 
pings  of  art,  which  encased  genius,  and  erased  the  water 
colors  of  her  pictures,  his  own  creation  placed  Coriolanus 
before  us  on  this  occasion  a  most  finished  and  brilliant  pic 
ture.  It  is  one  to  grace  the  walls  of  the  Academy  among 
the  proudest  productions  of  the  age — a  fadeless  gem  of 
true  art. 

"  The  Roman  manliness  of  his  face  and  figure,  the 
haughty  dignity  of  his  carriage,  and  the  fire  of  his  eye,  uni 
ted  to  the  abandon  with  which  he  entered  the  arena  to 
contend  against  remembered  stars,  conspired,  on  this  occa 
sion,  to  render  his  Coriolanus  one  of  the  most  finished, 
striking  and  classical  performances  that  was  ever  exhib 
ited  on  the  American  stage.  Sublime  in  giving  utterance 
to  its  language,  noble  in  the  expression  of  its  sentiments — 
fiery,  nay,  even  furious,  yet  dignified — he  threw  around  it 
a  grandeur,  pen  is  inadequate  to  describe.  Throughout  he 
was  great — uniformly  so  —  there  was  no  husbanding  his 
powers  for  the  mere  purpose  of  making  a  point,  no  subdued 
emotion  for  the  display  of  unnatural  bursts  of  passion,  no 
tameness  on  the  one  hand,  no  unnecessary  rant  on  the 
other. 

"  Mr.  Forrest  stands  alone  in  this  character ;  look  back 
over  the  '  mimic  world,'  and  whose  name  nears  itself  to 
his  in  the  past  ?  IsTot  VandenhofFs,  who  was  considered 
the  model  of  the  classic  school  of  acting,  and  the  represen 
tative  of  the  heroes  of  its  poets.  We  witnessed  this  gen 
tleman's  impersonation  of  the  character  in  the  year  1838. 
Lacking  all  those  physical  qualities  so  essential  to  the  great 
character — qualities  that  invest  the  artist  with  power  to 
look  and  act  the  part,  he  failed  to  render  it  either  striking 
or  interesting ;  in  fact,  it  created  neither  wonder  nor  sur 
prise.  It  was  a  reading  of  Shakespeare — wTords  without 
looks,  words  without  action  ;  a  Coriolanus  without  a  body 
or  a  soul — a  painted  figure  only.  Forrest's  Coriolanus  is 
now  a  living  picture.  Vandenhoffs  hangs  beside  it  a 
painted  one  of—'  still  life.' " 


184  LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

Of  Mr.  Forrest's  Kichelieu  it  is  scarcely  necessary 
for  us  to  say  much.  It  is  familiar  to  all,  and  all 
acknowledge  its  superiority  over  that  of  all  others. 
Vandenhoff  failed  in  it  ;  Macready  rendered  it  ridicu 
lous  ;  Booth  the  younger,  Connor  —  in  fact  all  who 
essayed  the  part — most  signally  failed  in  making  it 
other  than  a  galvanic  attempt  to  resuscitate  a  dead 
body.  Now  that  the  actor  master  of  the  art  has  gone, 
who  will  rule  the  stage  and  sustain  its  classic  character  ? 
Not  Edwin  Booth  ;  he  has  not  the  physical  or  mental 
capacity.  Who  can  now  take  the  lead  in  the  rank  of 
actors  ?  who  assume  the  sceptre  ?  who  wear  the  crown  ? 
There  is  one  man,  and  the  only  man  who,  if  he  knew 
his  own  worth  as  we  know  and  appreciate  it,  whose  name 
should  now  become  the  synonom  of  Edwin  Forrest, 
and  that  man  is  E.  L.  Davenport,  the  best  living  actor 
on  the  stage.  Let  us  return  to  "  Kichelieu." 

As  we  have  said,  it  is  not  necessary  to  call  attention 
to  those  beauties  with  which  this  play  is  studded,  and 
which  Mr.  Forrest  displayed  with  so  much  power,  skill 
and  judgment.  His  rendition  of  the  wily  Cardinal 
will  ever  be  remembered  as  one  of  his  greatest  stage 
productions.  Who  can  ever  forget  the  great  scene 
where  Baradas,  insisting  on  Julia's  obedience  to  the 
king's  command  to  return  to  the  palace,  exclaims  : 

"  Ay,  is  it  so  ? 

Then  wakes  the  power,  which  in  the  age  of  iron, 
Burst  forth  to  curb  the  great,  and  raise  the  low. 
Mark,  where  she  stands,  around  her  form  I  draw 
The  awful  circle  of  our  solemn  church ! 
Set  but  a  foot  within  that  holy  ground, 
And  on  thy  head — yea,  though  it  wore  a  crown — 
I  launch  the  curse  of  Rome ! 

Baradas.     I  dare  not  brave  you  ! 
I  do  but  speak  the  orders  of  my  king. 
The  church,  your  rank,  power,  very  word,  my  lord, 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FORREST.  185 

Suffice  you  for  resistance : — blame  yourself, 
If  it  should  cost  you  power  ! 

Richelieu.  That's  my  stake !    Ah! 

Dark  gamester  I  wTiat  is  tMne  !     Look  to  it  well — 
Lose  not  a  trick.     By  this  same  hour  to-morrow 
Thou  shalt  have  France,  or  I  thy  head  1 " 

His  startling  energy  of  this  passage  our  readers  will 
well  remember,  and  the  applause  which  invariably  fol 
lowed.  Again,  when  overhearing  Baradas  sneeringly 
whisper : 

"His  mind 
And  life  are  breaking  fast," 

he   cries  alou(>,  while  his  aged  frame  trembles  with 
excess  of  rage : 

"  Irreverent  ribald ! 

If  so,  beware  the  falling  ruins  !     Hark  ! 
I  tell  thee,  scorner  of  these  whitening  hairs, 
When  this  snow  melteth  there  shall  come  a  flood  ! 
Avaunt !  my  name  is  Richelieu — I  defy  thee ! 
Walk  blindfold  on ;  behind  thee  stalks  the  headsman, 
Ha !  ha ! — how  pale  he  is !     Heaven  save  my  country  I " 

We  need  not  speak  of  the  denouement  of  this  play, 
as  the  masterly  performance  of  Mr.  Forrest  invested 
the  whole  with  an  interest  no  other  actor  ever  gave  it. 
Richelieu  died  out  with  this  great  actor. 

The  remark  was  made,  when  Macready  and  others 
performed  Richelieu,  that  the  play  was  not  an  acting 
one,  and  gave  as  an  excuse  for  their  failure  that  it  was 
better  adapted  to  the  closet  than  the  stage.  It  was 
not  until  Mr.  Forrest  enacted  the  part,  and  by  his  pow 
erful  genius  transferred  to  the  stage  the  life-like  visions 
the  gifted  author  had  set  in  letters  of  gold,  that  these 
wonderful  critics  discovered  the  difference  between  true 
art  and  false  conception.  Forrest  took  the  play  from 
their  hands,  and  showed  to  the  world  the  power  of 
dramatic  art,  how  it  could  conjure  up  the  mighty  dead, 
and  bid  the  long-laid  spirits  stalk — show  the  "  swelling 


186  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORBEST. 

triumph  and  the  curtained  crime  " — made  "  slumber 
ing  kings  his  mighty  voice  obey/'  and  Richelieu's 
greatness  subdue  a  king  and  foil  his  foes. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

HAMLET.  -  ORIGIN  OF  THE  TRAGEDY.  -  THE  ORIGINAL 
HAMLET.  -  ACTORS  GREAT  IN  THE  PART.  -  CRITI 
CISM  ON  KEMBLE.  -  WILLIAM  B.  WOOD.  -  MR.  FOR- 

REST'S  HAMLET.  —  HAMLET'S   INSANITY.  —  WILLIAM 

A.    CONWAY. 


rriHIS  great  tragedy  has  long  been  a  fruitful  sub- 
-*-  ject  for  critics,  and  some  of  our  best  writers  have 
exercised  their  talents  and  displayed  much  erudition  in 
their  endeavors  to  prove  Shakespeare  was  all  wrong  in 
his  conception  of  the  character  of  Hamlet. 

ORIGIN    OF    THE    TRAGEDY. 

A  drama  of  the  same  name  and  subject  as  the  pres 
ent,  is  supposed  to  have  been  exhibited  before  the  year 
1589;  and  Malone  imagined  that  Shakespeare  only 
altered  it,  using  likewise  the  black-letter  "Historic  of 
Hamblett."  The  story  itself  was  originally  derived  from 
the  "  Historic  Danicse  "  of  Saxo  Grammaticus  ;  trans 
lated  by  Belleforest  in  his  Novels,  and  rendered  into 
English  in  the  above  narrative. 

Dr.  Percy's  copy  of  Speght's  edition  of  Chaucer, 
once  belonged  to  Gabriel  Harvey,  who  had  written  his 
name  at  both  the  commencement  and  conclusion,  with 
the  date  of  1598,  and  several  notes  between  ;  one  of 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  187 

which  was  "The  younger  sort  take  much  delight  in 
Shakespeare's  Venus  and  Adonis,  but  his  Lucrece,  and 
his  Tragedy  of  Hamlet,  Prince  of  Denmarke,  have  it 
in  them  to  please  the  wiser  sort/'  The  original  com 
position  of  Hamlet  is  therefore  placed  in  1597,  with 
revisions  and  additions  to  1600.  The  earliest  entry  of 
it  at  Stationers'  Hall,  is  July  26th,  1602,  and  a  copy  of 
the  play  in  its  imperfect  state,  dated  1603,  and  sup 
posed  to  have  been  printed  from  a  spurious  original, 
was  first  discovered  in  the  beginning  of  1825.  Another 
edition  appeared  in  1604,  "  newly  imprinted  and  en 
larged,  to  almost  as  much  again  as  it  was  ; "  the  varia 
tions  in  which  are  both  numerous  and  striking. 

In  1771,  Garrick  produced  this  tragedy  at  Drury 
Lane,  all  the  parts  being  sacrificed  to  that  of  Hamlet ; 
but  after  his  death  the  original  was  restored,  and  the 
modern  adaptation  is  that  by  John  P.  Kemble,  brought 
out  at  Drury  Lane,  in  1800,  and  at  Covent  Garden,  in 
1804.  The  scene  of  Hamlet  is  at  the  Castle  and  Court 
of  Elsinoir,  and  the  action  apparently  occupies  some 
months.  The  story  is  entirely  fabulous,  and  is  placed 
by  Saxo  at  an  impossible  period  of  antiquity ;  but  per 
haps  it  may  be  safely  referred  to  the  end  of  the  tenth, 
or  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  century,  during  the  in 
vasions  of  England  by  the  Danes  ;  to  which  period  Mr. 
Planche  has  adapted  the  series  of  historical  costumes 
prepared  for  it,  for  Covent  Garden,  in  1825. 

The  original  Hamlet  was  Kichard  Burbage.  Jo 
seph  Taylor,  instructed  by  Shakespeare  to  play  Ham 
let,  and  from  the  remembrance  of  his  performance  Sir 
William  Duvencent  is  said  to  have  instructed  Better- 
ton.  Following  these,  who  were  celebrated  in  the  part, 
are  the  names  of  Barton  Booth,  (this  gentleman  was 


188  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

celebrated  as  Othello,  and  Hamlet,  and  the  original 
Cato,)  David  Garrick,  John  P.  Kemble,  Young,  G.  F. 
Cooke,  Edmund  Kean,  William  Macready,  Thomas 
A.  Cooper,  Lucius  Junius  Booth,  William  A.  Conway, 
EDWIN  FORREST,  James  13.  Murdock,  E.  L.  Daven 
port  and  Edwin  Booth.  Although  we  have  given  the 
names  of  those  who  were  distinguished  in  the  part, 
still  several  of  them  were  open  to  severe  and  just  criti 
cism.  A  misconception  of  the  character  has  invariably 
lessened  the  claims  of  an  actor  to  be  considered  the 
Hamlet  of  Shakespeare's  creation. 

The  idea  of  Hamlet  being  a  genuine  madman,  sel 
dom  enters  the  mind  of  an  actor,  in  consequence  of 
which  they  labor  under  a  perplexity  to  impersonate  or 
illustrate  the  character  satisfactorily  to  the  audience. 
Whether  the  great  Kemble  took  this  view  of  the  men 
tal  condition  of  Hamlet  or  not,  can  only  be  judged  by 
the  criticism  written  at  the  time.  William  B.  Wood, 
who  witnessed  his  representation  of  it  in  London,  only 
speaks  of  the  effect  the  Ghost  scene  had  upon  him,  and 
when  we  questioned  him  more  closely  upon  that  gen 
tleman's  manners  and  style,  he  said:  "His  interview 
with  the  Ghost  made  me  shudder ;  his  look  of  horror, 
as  he  gazed  upon  the  shadowy  form  before  him,  com 
municated  itself  to  the  house,  for  that  gaze  invested 
the  spirit  with  all  the  attributes  of  the  grave." 

Mr.  Wood's  admiration  of  Kemble  did  not  extend 
beyond  the  interview  with  the  Ghost.  We  remember 
distinctly,  when  we  asked  why  he  never  essayed  the 
part,  he  said:  "By  G — d,  sir,  there  is  no  man  now 
living  who  can  play  it." 

Another  critic,  not  quite  so  enthusiastic  as  Mr. 
Wood,  speaking  of  Kemble's  Hamlet,  said : 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  189 

"Again,  before  the  performance  of  the  play,  where  his 
assumed  character  is  to  be  of  more  service  to  him,  he  meets 
Ophelia,  and,  wishing  probably  to  deepen  the  impression 
of  his  madness  on  the  minds  of  the  Court,  he  speaks  inco 
herently,  indeed,  but  sometimes  in  a  strain  of  melancholy 
truth  and  sound  advice  to  this  'fair  lady.'  During  all 
these  scenes  we  think  Hamlet  is  '  more  in  sorrow  than  in 
anger,'  whereas  Mr.  JKemble  makes  him  bang  a  door  on 
one  side,  half  bursts?  lock  on  the  other,  insult  Ophelia  by 
a  most  exalted  tone  of  voice,  and,  indeed,  '  out-herod 
Herod.' 

"  Mr.  Elliston  emphasized  the  word  my.  The  writer 
on  Kemble  says  the  emphasis  should  be  placed  on  '  sins? 
although  he  admits  the  possibility  of  'my'  being  correct. 

"  Mr.  Kemble  reads  this  line, '  Great  pith  and  moment,' 
'Great  pitch  and  moment.'  The  writer  goes  on  to  say 
that  Mr.  Kemble  '  wanted  to  conciliate  the  galleries ; '  but 
as  he  gives  no  reason  why,  we  presume  he  pitched  into 
new  reading." 

Hallam,  who  was  the  first  to  play  Hamlet  in  the 
Colonies,  although  young  at  the  time  (1761),  had  wit 
nessed  Garrick's  inimitable  acting  in  this  part,  and  the 
remembrance  of  which  added  materially  to  the  cause 
of  his  success. 

Cooper  subsequently  became  the  Hamlet  of  the 
American  stage.  Fennell  had  also  achieved  success  in 
the  part.  Conway  subsequently  made  or  rather  cre 
ated  a  great  sensation  in  the  character  of  Hamlet,  from 
the  fact  of  giving  it  a  shadow  of  himself,  whose  melan 
choly  tone  of  mind  subsequently  resulted  in  his  death. 
Of  Mr.  Edwin  Forrest's  Hamlet,  it  is  said  by  the  ablest 
critics,  that  he  was  the  best  reader  of  the  part  of  any 
who  ever  attempted  it  in  this  country. 

Forrest  had  Cooper  for  his  classic  model,  who  was 
the  Demosthenes  of  the  drama,  and  so  well  did  he  study 
in  that  school,  that  he,  in  time,  became  its  Talma. 

Kean  was   its   Raphael  in  producing  picturesque 


190  LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

grandeur,  and  its  Garrick  in  impassioned  eloquence. 
Mr.  Forrest,  young  as  he  was  then,  with  these  eminent 
actors  before  him,  the  idols  of  the  people,  saw  at  a 
glance  that  the  great  secret  of  their  success  was  their 
mental  quality  ;  it  was  the  mind  that  gave  vigor,  grace 
and  beauty  to  their  limbs,  fire  to  ^heir  eyes  and  classic 
beauty  to  their  impersonations.  Alere  physique  was 
nothing  to  be  compared  to  intellect. 

He  did  not,  as  many  of  our  young  actors  do,  study 
the  mere  personal  peculiarities  of  their  model,  and  also 
certain  intonations  and  nasal  imperfections  of  the  voice, 
leaving  the  mental  quality  entirely  out  of  the  question ; 
he  studied  the  latter,  and  after  mastering  all  its  diffi 
culties,  he  soon  made  the  mere  mechanical  yield  to  the 
master  spirit — mind. 

His  "bold  brow"  bore  the  scars  of  mental  labor,  the 
thoughts  of  years,  "  not  their  decrepitude/'  while  that 
of  others  bore  the  scars  of  mental  failure,  leaving  the 
physique  a  barren  waste.  Study  makes  the  body  rich, 
its  want 

"  The  leafless  desert  of  the  mind, 
The  waste  of  feelings  unemployed." 

Many  actors  of  the  modern  school  are  idealists ; 
that  is,  they  are  unable  to  draw  the  line  of  distinction 
between  a  bodiless  substance,  and  objects  which  are  the 
immediate  emanations  of  the  mind.  These  are  called 
ideas  which  give  form  and  figure  to  shapeless  matter. 

Mr.  Forrest's  conception  and  rendition  of  Hamlet 
were  those  of  a  close  student  and  a  finished  artist.  It 
was  a  triumphant  refutation  of  the  sneers  of  those  who 
called  him  a  mere  physical  actor.  There  is  a  certain 
class  of  idealists  to  whom  matter  is  a  great  bugbear. 
They  measure  a  man's  mental  calibre  by  his  weight 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FOEKEST.  191 

in  the  scales.  In  the  eyes  of  these  critics,  the  very 
qualities  which  commend  an  artist  to  the  many,  are 
so  many  blemishes. 

Mr.  Forrest's  delineation  of  character  was  not  given 
hastily  or  carelessly ;  there  was  a  startling  finish  in  all 
he  undertook,  which  left  a  favorable  impression  ever 
afterward.  His  dying  scenes  were  death's  protraitures. 
There  is  nothing  more  difficult  in  the  whole  range  of 
dramatic  art  than  are  its  death  scenes.  Mr.  Forrest  in 
vested  them  with  a  solemn  reality  ;  they  were  sublime 
(if  we  may  use  the  word)  pictures,  which  made  the 
sense  of  death  more  in  apprehension  than  the  sup 
posed  horror  attending  it. 

In  the  art  gallery  of  the  stage  there  are  many  stri 
king  pictures.  There  we  see  Mr.  Forrest  as  Othello. 
There  we  see  him  as  Damon,  in  all  his  Roman  grand 
eur,  Damon  in  his  agony,  Damon  in  his  triumph. 
There  we  see  him  as  Virginias,  Coriolanus,  Macbeth, 
King  Lear,  Richelieu,  Jack  Cade,  The  Gladiator,  Met- 
amora,  etc.  These  glorious  pictures  are  now  the  proud 
est  in  the  histrionic  gallery,  and  will  never  grow  dim 
while  the  image  of  him  who  gave  them  life  lives  in  our 
memory. 

The  first  time  we  witnessed  Mr.  Forrest's  Hamlet, 
was  at  the  old  Chestnut  Street  Theatre,  in  1827.  He 
was  then  but  twenty- one  years  of  age  !  What  could 
be  expected  of  one  so  young  ?  And  yet  it  was  a  beau 
tiful  but  not  a  philosophical  Hamlet.  He  had  studied 
it  carefully  from  an  acting  copy,  and  took  the  accepted 
notion  of  Hamlet's  assuming  a  madness,  instead  of 
making  that  assumption  a  phase  in  his  actual  insanity. 
Hamlet,  after  the  interview  with  his  father's  spirit,  has 
announced  his  probable  intent  to  "  bear  himself  strange 


192  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

and  odd,  and  put  an  antic  disposition  on."  This  is  very 
well ;  but  how  is  it  that  in  the  opening  soliloquy  he 
meditates  suicide,  having  no  other  cause  than  the  mar 
riage  of  his  mother  with  his  uncle.  To  one  so  young, 
surrounded  with  everything  to  please  his  taste  as  well 
as  his  ambition,  is  this  marriage  a  sufficient  cause  for 
suicide,  or  even  its  contemplation  ?  Dark  thoughts 
of  self-destruction  enters  his  mind,  and  he  exclaims : 

"  O  that  this  too,  too  solid  flesh  would  melt, 
Thaw,  and  resolve  itself  into  a  dew. 
Or  that  the  Everlasting  had  not  fixed 
His  canon  'gainst  self-slaughter." 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  mind  of  Hamlet  was 
diseased,  and  a  deep-settled  melancholy  had  taken  full 
possession  of  his  mind.  We  have  said  this  much  here, 
because  in  all  our  subsequent  articles  on  this  great  play, 
we  invariably  had  occasion  to  trace  the  failure  of  actors 
in  this  part,  to  their  mixing  the  real  insanity  of  Hamlet 
with  his  simulating  it  in  after  scenes,  which  is  in  fact 
but  another  shade  of  the  mad  fiend's  "  wing  flapping 
o'er  his  head."  Space  will  not  permit  us  to  enter 
more  fully  into  the  metaphysical,  or,  as  Shakespeare 
rendered  it,  super -natur  alia ,  character  of  Hamlet,  but 
we  will  give  the  Prince's  own  words.  After  a  long 
spell  of  insanity  he  comes  to  his  senses,  and  says, 
when  he  takes  the  hand  of  Laertes,  previous  to  the 
trial  of  skill  with  foils  : 

Hamlet.     "  Give  me  your  pardon,  sir ;  I've  done  you  wrong ; 
But  pardon  it,  as  you  are  a  gentleman. 
This  presence  knows,  and  you  must  needs  have  heard, 
How  I  am  punish'd  with  a  sore  distraction. 
What  I  have  done 

That  might  your  nature,  honor,  and  exception, 
Roughly  awake,  /  here  proclaim  was  madriess. 
Was't  Hamlet  wrong'd  Laertes  ?     Never,  Hamlet. 
If  Hamlet  from  himself  be  ta'en  away, 
And  when  he's  not  himself  does  wrong  Laertes, 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORREST.  193 

Then  Hamlet  does  it  not.     Hamlet  denies  it. 
Who  does  it  then  r*     His  madness.     If  t  be  so, 
Hamlet  is  of  the  faction  that  is  wrong' d ; 
His  madness  is  poor  Hamlet's  enemy. 
Sir,  in  this  audience 

Let  my  disclaiming  from  a  purposed  evil 
Free  me  so  far  in  your  most  generous  thoughts, 
That  I  have  shot  mine  arrow  o'er  the  house 
And  hurt  my  brother." 

This  we  think  unquestionable  authority,  and  to  the 
psychologist  has  left  nothing  to  be  desired,  having,  as 
we  think,  established  Hamlet's  real  madness. 

It  was  not  until  many  years  afterward,  that  Mr. 
Forrest's  Hamlet  soared  above  all  the  other  Hamlets' 
of  the  day,  for  his  illustration  of  the  character  from 
a  mad-point  of  view,  rendered  it  not  only  perfectly 
plain,  but  satisfactory  to  the  audience. 

We  spoke  of  Mr.  Forrest's  Hamlet  in  1827,  some 
what  freely,  and  alluded  to  several  passages  as  being 
given,  not  only  too  rapidly,  but  with  an  imperfect 
knowledge  of  the  author's  meaning. 

To  one  of  these  we  will  allude  here,  as  it  is  con 
nected  with  a  very  pleasing  incident  which  occurred 
in  his  library  a  short  time  before  his  death.  One  of 
the  passages  we  criticised  at  that  time  (1827)  was  the 
manner  he  rendered  this  passage : 

"  I'll  call  thee  Hamlet ! 
King  !  Father !  Royal  Dane !— Oh,  answer  me ! " 

He  gave  it  thus  : 

"  I'll  call  thee  Hamlet ! 
King !  Father  !  Royal  Dane,  0  answer  me  !  " 

Hamlet  knows  not  by  what  gracious  or  acceptable 
title  to  salute  the  spectre  ;  it  comes  in  such  a  question 
able  shape,  that  he  addresses  it  by  the  several  appella 
tive  terms  which  distinguished  his  father  while  living. 
"  Royal  Dane "  is  used  precisely  in  the  same  sense  as 


194  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FOEREST. 

are  those  of  the  others ;  indeed,  it  is  a  vocative 
climax.  Being  so,  it  should  read  as  we  have  given 
it  above.  Several  errors  of  a  youthful  construction  on 
the  text  of  Shakespeare  marked  Mr.  Forrest's  first  at 
tempt  of  Hamlet,  all  of  which,  with  one  exception, 
he  long  since  corrected,  and  that  one  he  maintained 
to  the  last. 

We  have  in  one  or  more  instances  alluded  to  MR. 
WILLIAM  A.  CONWAY,  in  connection  with  Hamlet.  We 
will  speak  of  him  here.  In  the  year  1823,  this  gentle 
man  made  his  first  appearance  in  America.  He  was 
the  first  actor  we  ever  witnessed  in  the  character  of 
Hamlet  wlio  made  us  feel  uncomfortable;  for  it  seemed 
then,  to  our  youthful  imagination,  as  if  he  himself  had 
the  cue  for  passion  that  Hamlet  had.  We  do  not  say 
it  was  a  great  performance,  but  it  had  that  about  it 
which  impressed  the  audience  with  the  painful  idea 
that  the  actor,  as  well  as  the  hero  of  the  play,  was  mad  ! 
Subsequent  events  in  the  life  of  this  gentleman,  result 
ing  in  a  melancholy  death,  fully  sustained  this  impres 
sion.  Mr.  Conway  was  of  the  Fennell  school ;  his  per 
son  tall  and  commanding,  and  he  possessed  the  rare 
merit  of  being  a  most  elegant  scholar  and  reader.  The 
celebrated  speech  commencing  with,  "  To  be  or  not  to 
be,"  etc.,  as  given  by  him,  seemed  as  if  he  intended  to 
make  his  quietus  then  and  there.  During  its  delivery 
the  audience  seemed  lost  in  wonder,  not  so  much  from 
the  beautiful  reading,  but  from  a  painful  feeling  he 
created  that  he  was  fearfully  in  earnest.  This  was  the 
impression  it  made  upon  us — it  was  a  thrilling  delinea 
tion  of  a  phase  of  insanity  under  which  the  actor  him 
self  was  laboring.  Mr.  Conway's  temperament,  added 
to  a  morbid  state  of  mind,  rendered  him  fully  capable 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  195 

of  grasping  the  peculiar  elements  of  which  the  character 
of  Hamlet  is  composed  ;  for  those  who  assume  sorrow, 
or  affect  grief,  in  general  overact  the  part,  because  their 
natures  do  not  assimilate  with  that  of  the  character. 
We  would  not  have  our  Hamlet's  mad,  but  we  would 
have  them  so  to  represent  the  part  as  to  make  that 
appear  natural,  which  in  less  skilful  hands,  would  seem 
quite  the  reverse.  Tacitus  uses  this  phrase  when 
speaking  of  this  class:  "  Nulli  jactantius  moerent, 
quam  qui  maxime  lactantur." 

The  Hamlet  of  Mr.  Conway  was  marked  by  a 
striking  identification  with  the  mental  peculiarities  as 
drawn  by  Shakespeare,  investing  it  with  all  the  at 
tributes  that  make  up  the  real  and  imaginary  wrongs 
under  which  Hamlet  is  supposed  to  labor.  The  whole 
of  the  interview  with  his  mother  was  given  in  a  most 
impassioned  manner ;  it  was  stern,  decided,  posi 
tive,  but  neither  in  the  delivery  of  the  words  nor  in 
his  actions  did  he  forget  that  she  was  his  mother; 
and  when  he  gave  these  lines,  it  was  with  a  deep  sense 
of  a  wrong  inflicted  upon  him  by  her  conduct,  and 
he  the  only  living  person  to  show  up  that  wrong, 
and  check  her  further  progress  in  crime : 

"  Good-night ;  but  go  not  to  my  uncle's  bed ; 
Assume  a  virtue,  if  you  have  it  not. 
Once  more  good-night ! 
And  when  you  are  desirous  to  be  blessed, 
I'll  a  blessing  beg  of  you." 

We  well  remember  with  what  enthusiasm  this 
whole  scene  was  received.  If  we  are  more  favorably 
disposed  towards  the  memory  of  Mr.  Conway  in  this 
great  character,  it  is  because  we  have  seen  no  one 
up  to  this  period,  who  could  melanclwlize  the  part 
to  the  extent  he  did. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

LATE  AT  KEHEARSAL.  —  RICHELIEU  IN  A  PASSION. — 
AN  AMUSING  INCIDENT. — THE  EXCITED  CRITIC. — 
KING  LEAR'S  WIG. — ALMOST  A  DUEL.  —  ANDREW 

JACKSON    ALLEN. — A     SATISFACTORY    EXCUSE. 

FORREST  MEETS  HIS  MATCH. — ROMAN    CITIZENS. — 
POWERFUL  ACTING. 

"TOURING  the  years  intervening  between  Mr.  For- 
-*-^  rest's  first  and  second  professional  visit  to  Eng 
land,  he  pursued  with  an  artist's  assiduity  the  duties 
of  his  dramatic  career.  It  was  a  triumphant  one ;  he 
was  everywhere  greeted  with  applause,  and  the  press, 
with  but  few  exceptions,  spoke  highly  of  his  perform 
ances.  Before  we  follow  him  to  England,  we  propose 
to  relate  a  few  anecdotes  and  incidents  connected  with 
the  theatre  during  his  starring  engagements. 

An  old  writer  has  said,  "If  you  have  anything 
worth  communicating  in  return,  I  hope  you  will  not 
refuse  the  trouble  of  giving  me  the  intelligence  ;  not 
only  as  we  are  all  of  us  rationally  fond,  you  know,  of 
news,  but  because  interesting  anecdotes  afford  ex 
amples  which  may  be  of  use  in  respect  to  our  own 
conduct." 

LATE    AT    REHEARSAL. 

Many  acts  of  kindness,  blended  with  the  Divine 
attribute,  charity,  are  daily  performed  by  men  of 

(196) 


LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FOKREST.  197 

wealth,  of  which  the  world  is  not  advised.  In  almost 
every  case  of  this  kind  which  came  under  our  knowl 
edge,  in  connection  with  Mr.  Forrest,  it  was  the  desire 
of  that  gentleman  that  publicity  should  not  be  given. 
We  shall  have  occasion  hereafter  to  speak  of  his  chari 
ties;  in  the  mean  time  we  give  "Late  at  Rehearsal." 

On  one  occasion  Mr.  Forrest  was  fulfilling  an  en 
gagement  in  New  York ;  the  morning  rehearsal  of  an 
important  play  was  delayed  some  time  by  the  non- 
arrival  of  one  of  the  company.  The  part  he  had  in  the 
piece  was  a  minor  one,  but  very  important  to  the  actor, 
particularly  in  the  first  act.  Mr.  Forrest  became  im 
patient  ;  he  walked  up  and  down  the  stage  in  no  very 
mild  humor — the  manager  and  the  company  very  un 
easy.  At  last  the  truant  came — a  quiet,  gentlemanly 
man,  heretofore  remarkable  for  close  attention  to  busi 
ness  and  rehearsals.  Mr.  Forrest,  much  excited,  ad 
dressed  him : — "  Sir,  you  have  kept  these  ladies  and 
gentlemen  waiting  a  full  half  hour.  You  cannot  be 
ignorant,  sir,  of  the  importance  of  a  rehearsal  in  which 
every  member  of  the  company  take  part/'  At  that 
moment  the  actor  raised  his  eyes  and  met  those  of 
Mr.  Forrest — they  were  watery — grief  was  visible  in 
every  varying  expression  of  his  face.  Forrest  stopped 
— he  could  not  add  another  word.  The  actor  spoke : — 
"  Mr.  Forrest,  I  ask  your  pardon.  I — I  could  not 
come  sooner ; "  here  tears  came  into  his  eyes.  "  I 
have  met  with  a  serious  loss.  My  son — my  only  son 
— died  last  night.  I — I  hurried  here  as  soon  as  I 
could,  and — " 

"  Say  no  more,"  was  the  actor's  reply.  He  knew 
the  man  to  be  poor,  with  a  family ;  he  also  knew  him 
to  be  correct  in  his  habits.  His  anger  was  gone. 


198  LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FORREST. 

"  Step  aside,  sir ;  I  wish  to  speak  to  you/'  was  the 
great  actor's  answer  to  the  sad  cause  of  the  man's 
absence.  "  You  have  no  business  here ;  go  home  im 
mediately;  we  will  endeavor  to  get  on  without  you, 
and  take  this  from  one  who  sympathizes  in  your  grief." 
So  saying,  he  slipped  a  fifty  dollar  note  into  his  hand. 
Then  turning  suddenly  round,  exclaimed  in  a  loud 
voice : — "  Let  us  go  on  with  the  rehearsal." 

RICHELIEU    IN    A    PASSION. 

Forrest  was  once  playing  an  engagement  at  Pitts- 
burg.  Already  dressed  for  the  character  of  Kichelieu, 
he  was  in  the  act  of  going  on  the  stage  in  the  first 
scene,  when  he  discovered  that  the  sleeve  of  the  dress 
he  wore  was  either  too  short  or  drawn  up ;  he  called  to 
his  dresser,  and  told  him  to  pull  the  sleeve  down,  so  as 
the  lace  frill  would  show.  The  man  commenced  pull 
ing  the  robe  instead  of  the  under-sleeve,  when  Forrest, 
in  a  loud  voice,  exclaimed  : — "  Hell  and  fury !  what  are 

you  about  ?     The  under-sleeve,  d n  you."     Being 

near  the  first  entrance,  he  was  heard  in  front,  and  a 
round  of  applause  followed — the  audience  imagining 
it  part  of  the  play.  "What  are  they  applauding  $  " 
exclaimed  Forrest.  The  prompter  promptly  replied : 
— "  Your  first  speech,  sir,  off  the  stage." 

AN    AMUSING   INCIDENT. 

The  following  pleasing  dramatic  incident  has  been 
given  in  connection  with  more  "Bella's  "  than  one.  It 
actually  occurred,  however  —  no  matter  who  the 
"  Bolla  "  was  on  the  occasion. 

"  Some  years  ago,  when  the  play  of  Rolla  was  very 
popular,  the  manager  found  it  very  difficult  to  procure  a 
child  to  play  a  part  in  that  piece,  which  the  reader  well  re- 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  199 

members  is  essential  to  its  interest  and  final  tableau.  Hav 
ing  on  one  occasion  procured  a  smart,  intelligent  child,  by 
sundry  presents  and  kind  promises,  it  was  inducted  in  its 
new  vocation,  and  during  rehearsal,  promised  fair  to  make 
a  decided  hit  at  night.  Among  the  presents  was  a  pair  of 
red  shoes,  of  which  the  little  thing  was  extremely  proud. 
At  night  everything  went  on  well.  In  the  first  act  the 
child  is  placed  on  the  stage  by  its  mother,  who  rushes  out 
when  she  hears  her  husband's  (Alonzo's)  voice;  two  sol 
diers  then  enter  and  carry  the  child  off  to  Pizarro's  camp. 
Some  delay  having  occurred,  these  two  soldiers  did  not 
come  in  time,  and  the  child  looking  round  and  wondering 
what  it  was  all  about,  proudly  walked  down  to  the  foot 
lights,  then  putting  out  her  feet,  exclaimed : — '  Look  at  my 
pretty  red  shoes.'  The  audience  looked  and  shouted.  The 
child,  somewhat  alarmed  at  this  note  of  admiration,  started 
and  ran  back  just  in  time  to  be  carried  off  by  the  two 
tardy  soldiers.  The  applause  continued  for  some  time. 
That  child  made  a  hit." 

THE    EXCITED    CRITIC. 

On  one  occasion,  while  playing  Virginius  in  a  Wes 
tern  city,  he  noticed  a  man  in  the  pit  who  seemed  to 
enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  play  by  his  never  taking  his 
eyes  off  the  actor,  watching  his  every  motion  with  an 
earnestness  that  made  Virginius  feel  uncomfortable. 
In  the  fifth  act,  when  Virginius  kills  Virginia  in  the 
market-house,  the  house  was  perfectly  spell-bound. 
The  man  in  the  pit  manifested  considerable  emotion ; 
he  would  start  up  and  clutch  his  hands,  thus  attracting 
the  attention  of  those  around  him. 

At  last,  when  Virginius  returns  to  his  home,  mind 
distraught,  and  calls  for  his  daughter,  "  Virginia,  Vir 
ginia,"  in  a  broken  voice,  the  man  in  the  pit  started  up 
in  actual  fury,  and  shouted  out : — "  You  killed  her  in 
the  market  house,  you  d d  villain  ! " 

This  was  too  much  for  the  house.     One  loud  shout 


200  LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOKEEST. 

testified  its  appreciation  of  the  critic's  judgment,  as 
well  as  his  manner  of  expressing  it.  Forrest  left. 

The  following  incident  connected  with  Mr.  Forrest's 
Lear,  is  thus  related  by  T.  H.  Morrell,  Esq.,  New  York, 
November  20th,  1872 : 

"  About  eighteen  years  ago,  Mr.  Forrest  was  playing  an 
engagement  at  the  old  Broadway  Theatre,  near  Anthony 
Street,  their  duration  generally  extending  from  fifty  to  sev 
enty-five  consecutive  nights,  and  at  that  time  considered  a 
feat  unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  the  stage.  One  night, 
while  performing  the  role  of  King  Lear,  with  Barry,  Con- 
way,  Davidge,  Whiting,  Madame  Ponisi,  Mrs.  Abbott  and 
other  well  known  favorites  in  the  cast,  in  the  last  scene  of 
the  second  act,  when  depicting  the  frenzy  of  the  noble  old 
monarch,  whose  brain  was  overwrought  with  passion,  and 
maddened  by  the  injuries  of  his  unnatural  daughters,  G-one- 
ril  and  Regan,  in  the  excitement  of  the  moment  Mr.  For 
rest  tore  the  wig  of  whitened  hair  from  his  head  and 
hurled  it  some  twenty  feet  towards  the  footlights.  The 
effect  was  a  striking  one,  and  the  wig  thus  removed  re 
vealed  to  the  audience  a  head  of  glossy  raven  locks,  form 
ing  a  strange  contrast  to  the  hoary  beard  still  appended, 
and  fastened  by  a  white  cord  to  the  actor's  chin.  The 
situation  was  one  that  on  an  ordinary  occasion  would  have 
caused  embarrassment  both  to  actor  and  spectator,  but  not 
so  there.  Among  that  vast  audience  not  a  single  titter 
could  be  heard,  and  scarce  a  smile  was  discernible.  En 
chained,  enraptured  by  the  mighty  master's  art, 

*  A  man  of  kingly  stature  and  of  kingly  voice,' 

delineating  to  the  perfect  life  a  mightier  master's  genius, 
two  thousand  silent  listeners  still  gazed  with  eyes  be- 
dimmed  upon  the  mimic  scene  before  them.  Nor  did  the 
pause  or  actor  hesitate.  Still  did  that  voice,  superbly 
grand,  so  rich  in  infinite  pathos  and  of  beauty — the  most 
remarkable  for  compass,  melody  and  power  of  any  on  the 
stage — speak  forth  in  anguish  and  in  sorrow,  that  fierce 
denunciation  of  the  outraged  king  and  father.  Nearly 
two  decades  have  passed  away  since  that  memorable  en 
gagement,  and  the  '  old  Broadway '  is  among  '  the  scenes 
that  were,'  as  are  also  two  other  '  temples  of  the  drama,' 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FORREST.  201 

in  which  the  veteran  so  often  delighted  the  thousands 
who  thronged  to  witness  those  characters  in  which  he 
alone  was  capable  of  presenting  the  finest  examples  of 
feeling,  dramatic  passion  and  artistic  beauty." 

ALMOST    A    DUEL. 

Playing  Claude  Melnotte  out  West,  he  found,  as 
usual,  much  difficulty  with  actors  at  rehearsal.  A 
young  man  who  played  an  important  part,  disputed 
his  business  with  the  great  actor  with  much  spirit,  say 
ing  :  "I  have  as  much  right  to  my  opinion,  or  the  part 
I  have  to  play,  as  you  have,  sir." 

"  Indeed/'  exclaimed  Forrest,  "  and  who  are  you, 
sir  ?  " 

"A  gentleman." 

"  Indeed,  I  am  glad  to  hear  it." 

"  Probably,"  replied  the  young  man,  "  for  it  is  sel 
dom  you  associate  with  them." 

This  was  too  much  for  Forrest ;  he  burst  out  in 
great  fury,  and  in  no  measured  terms  expressed  his 
opinion  of  the  gentleman. 

The  young  man  made  no  other  reply  than  quietly 
remarking  :'  "Ladies  are  present,  and  I  never  use  im 
proper  language  or  bluster  before  them."  Bowing,  he 
left  the  stage. 

After  the  rehearsal  was  over,  and  Forrest  started  to 
the  hotel  where  he  was  stopping,  the  first  person  he 
met  was  the  actor  in  question. 

"  A  word  with  you,  Mr.  Forrest." 

".I  have  no  time,  sir." 

"  Then  take  time ;  for  what  I  have  to  say  to  you 
requires  both  time  and  attention.  You  insulted  me, 
sir — insulted  me  in  the  presence  of  ladies,  and  I  here 
demand  an  apology." 


202  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

"  Apology  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir ;  for  insulting  me.  I  never  submit  to  an 
insult,  and  you  have  to  apologize  or  fight  me.  You 
may  say  I  am  but  an  actor — so  are  you — and  being  an 
actor,  I  claim  also  that  of  the  character  of  a  gentle 
man." 

"  Well,  sir,  suppose  I  refuse  ?  " 

"  Then  I  insult  you  here  in  the  open  street — man 
to  man.  Sir,  I  am  your  equal  in  strength  and  science." 

Forrest  looked  in  astonishment  upon  the  young 
man,  who  stood  so  boldly  up  before  him  ;  he  admired 
his  spirit  and  gentlemanly  manner ;  he  found  he  had  to 
deal  with  a  man,  and  his  better  nature  acknowledged  it. 

"  Well,  sir,  I  will  accept  your  challenge.  It  is  my 
misfortune  to  meet  so  many  of  the  profession,  ignorant 
of  their  duties,  in  my  travels,  that  the  violence  of  my 
temper  not  unfrequently  gets  the  better  of  my  judg 
ment/' 

"  This,  Mr.  Forrest,  is  almost  an  apology/' 

"  No,  it  is  not — not  sufficient — bring  with  you  to 
my  hotel  as  many  of  those  whom  you  may  wish  to  con 
sult,  before  we  meet  in  deadly  strife,  and  who  were 
present  on  the  occasion.  You  shall  have  satisfaction, 
and  ample  ;  it  shall  never  be  said  that  I  wronged  a 
man  unjustly." 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  the  whole  matter  was 
amicably  arranged,  and  that  Mr.  Forrest  made  a  foe  a 
friend.  It  was  after  this  scene  Mr.  Forrest  relaxed 
most  wonderfully  from  his  old  violence  of  temper  and 
manner.  Forrest  was  an  excellent  story-teller,  and 
liked  nothing  better  than  to  tell  the  following  anec 
dote  in  the  green-room,  if  he  found  all  the  ladies 
of  the  company  assembled.  In  his  hotel,  in  St.  Louis, 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  203 

there  was  a  colored  barber  who  always  shaved  Mr. 
Forrest,  and  was  an  intense  admirer  of  the  great  tra 
gedian.  While  performing  his  functions  one  morning, 
the  following  conversation  ensued  : 

"We's  going  to  play  Othello,  to-night,  Massa 
Forrest." 

"  We  ?     Who  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"Me,  sar,  an'  de  oder  colored  gemmen.  I  wish 
you'd  come  and  see  us,  sar." 

"  Well,  perhaps  I  would  if  I  had  time.  Where  do 
you  play  ?  " 

"Down  in  the  servants'  hall,  sar.  We'se  got  a 
good  company." 

"  Oh  !  indeed.  G-ood  company,  eh  ?  Are  your  ac 
tresses  good  ?  " 

"  Well,  Massa  Forrest,  dat's  just  whar  de  trouble  is. 
We  ain't  got  no  actresses." 

"  No  actresses  ! " 

"  Well,  sar,  we  can't  get  no  colored  ladies  to  play 
on  top  of  de  stage." 

"  Why  not  ?  " 

"  Well,  sar,  dey  won't  do  it ;  they  tinks  it  so 
degrading,  sar." 

Mr.  Forrest  always  told  this  with  immense  point, 
and  thoroughly  enjoyed  the  indignation  with  which  the 
actresses  invariably  received  it. 

THE    GERMAN    DESDEMONA. 

On  one  occasion  Forrest  was  playing  an  engage 
ment  out  West.  The  company  was  limited  in  numbers, 
and  the  leading  actress  was  of  German  extraction  and 
had  not  as  yet  mastered  the  English  language ;  nor 
had  she  the  least  idea  of  the  characters,  particularly 


204  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

those  of  Shakespeare,  in  which  she  appeared.  On  the 
occasion  of-  his  playing  Othello,  this  lady  of  course, 
took  that  of  Desdemona.  Forrest's  description  of  this 
performance,  as  frequently  told  when  he  was  "  in  the 
vein/'  was  rich  beyond  expression,  exaggerated  to  a  cer 
tain  extent ;  yet  he  said  the  main  features  were  strictly 
true.  In  the  scene  where  she  is  sent  for  to  corroborate 
Othello's  story  of  his  love  and  whole  course  of  wooing, 
when  her  father  says : 

"  Come  hither,  gentle  mistress. 
Do  you  perceive  in  all  this  noble  company 
Where  you  most  owe  obedience  ?  " 

She  answered  him  thus  : 

"  My  noble  fader,  I  do  see  here  many  peoples, 
You  are  my  fader ;  I  owe  you  much  duty, 
Mine  life,  and  education,  and  all  dese  things. 
But  dare  is  mine  husband,  dat  black  man ; 
I  likes  him  de  most,  I  prefers  him  to  you  all  the 
time.     Ha — ha." 

So  saying,  she  made  a  rush  at  the  Moor  and  nearly 
upset  him ;  she  clung  to  him,  uttering  ha — ha.  The 
audience  was  delighted,  for  the  actress  was  a  great 
favorite. 

As  Forrest  intended  to  play  Macbeth,  he  was  very 
much  worried  about  his  Lady  Macbeth  ;  there  was  no 
one  to  play  it  but  this  lady.  He  waited  upon  her  to 
talk  the  matter  over;  he  asked  her  if  she  had  ever 
played  Lady  Macbeth. 

"  Eh,  who  is  de  lady,  eh  ?  I  never  knew  her — 
never  played  her." 

"Did  you  never  hear  of  the  great  play  of  Macbeth, 
by  William  Shakespeare  ?  " 

"  Eh,  me  do  know  him ;  but  I  will  soon  learn  d6 
part ;  fetch  it  to  me,  I  learn  it." 

"  My  dear  madame,  if  you  have  never  played  the 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  205 

part,  nor  heard  of  the  play,  it  would  take  months  to 
do  so — it  is  no  common  character." 

"  Eh,  common  ?  me  no  play  common  characters." 

"  You  misunderstand  me  ;  this  is  a  great  character 
— one  that  requires  months  and  years  of  study.  We 
will  change  the  play  to  something  else." 

"No  !  me  play  Macbeth ;  I  learn  her  in  three  days, 
eh?" 

Forrest  would  not  risk  it,  to  the  lady's  great  sur 
prise,  saying,  "  Me  learn  her  in  three  days,  eh  ?  " 

TEACHING    A    PROMPTER    A    LESSON. 

On  one  occasion,  while  acting  Claude  Melnotte  at 
the  old  National  Theatre,  Philadelphia  (where  the 
Continental  Hotel  now  stands),  and  while  that  estab 
lishment  was  under  the  management  of  Wemyss  & 
Oxley,  he  exposed  the  prompter,  Mr.  Collingbourne,  in 
a  most  emphatic  manner.  It  is  perhaps  necessary  to 
apprise  the  reader  that  all  letters  which  are  read  upon 
the  stage  during  a  performance  are  previously  written 
by  the  prompter.  By  some  mistake,  on  this  occasion, 
the  "written  letter"  which  Beauseant  sends  to  Mel 
notte  in  the  first  act  got  mislaid,  and  the  servant  in 
the  piece  brought  on  to  Mr.  Forrest  a  blank  document. 
The  tragedian  opened  it  as  usual,  and  instead  of  find 
ing  the  words,  "  Young  man,  I  know  thy  secret,  etc., 
etc.,"  he  found  a  spotless  piece  of  foolscap.  Forrest 
rushed  up  the  stage  furiously,  and  hurling  the  dumb 
missive  at  the  servant's  head,  exclaimed,  "  Bring  me  a 
written  letter !"  There  was  considerable  of  a  "stage 
wait"  before  the  proper  letter  could  be  found,  and  the 
audience  was  greatly  amazed  and  annoyed  at  the  sud 
den  interruption  of  the  scene  and  the  actor's  anger. 


206  LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

Poor  Collingbourne  afterwards  confessed  that  he  was 
"  frightened  out  of  his  wits." 

ANDREW   JACKSON   ALLEN. 

This  individual,  better  know  as  "  Dummy  Allen/' 
travelled  with  Mr.  Forrest  on  his  professional  tour  as 
his  "  costumer."  He  was  born  in  New  York,  December, 
1776.  In  1787,  he  appeared  as  a  child  in  the  John 
Street  Theatre,  New  York,  from  which  circumstance  he 
boasted  being  the  paternal  parent  of  the  Histrionic 
'tribe.  He  was  attached  to  various  theatres  in  New 
York  in  subordinate  situations.  He  was  connected 
with  the  National  Theatre  in  1838,  and  in  1852,  he 
took  a  benefit  at  the  Lyceum,  Broadway.  Allen  was 
very  deaf,  and  consequently  very  annoying  to  those 
with  whom  he  played,  who  not  unfrequently  took  an 
unkind  revenge  on  his  misfortune,  by  misleading  him 
with  an  inaudible  movement  of  the  lips  during  the  per 
formance,  to  which  he  thought  he  must  reply,  his 
speeches  being  often  quite  mat-apropos.  On  one  oc 
casion,  when  an  actor's  lips  seemed  to  move  beyond  the 
cue  by  which  he  was  to  reply,  he  exclaimed  aloud  : 
"  What  is  all  this  ?  Are  you  going  to  do  all  the  talk 
ing?  Stop,  or  I'll  go  off  the  stage."  The  audience 
roared  with  laughter. 

Allen  possessed  a  patent  for  the  manufacture  of 
gold  and  silver  leather,  much  used  upon  stage  costume. 
He  died  in  New  York,  October,  30th,  1853. 

The  name  of  Andrew  Jackson  Allen,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  his  paternal  appellation,  was  entirely  gratui 
tous.  He  was  a  great  admirer  of  the  general.  During 
Mr.  Forrest's  professional  visit  to  Europe,  Allen  accom 
panied  him  as  his  costumer.  On  one  occasion  a  dinner 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  207 

was  given  by  some  of  the  minor  actors  of  the  theatre, 
to  which  Allen  was  invited.  In  reply  to  a  toast  com 
plimentary  to  America,  Allen  rose  and  made  some  re 
marks,  in  the  course  of  which  he  spoke  of  "  the  Boy" 
as  the  greatest  actor  of  the  age.  "  Where/'  he  shouted, 
"  is  there  another  to  equal  him  ?  Where/'  he  ex 
claimed  in  high  tragic  notes,  "  will  you  find  him  ?  " 
An  excited  individual,  carried  away  by  the  eloquence 
of  the  speaker,  shouted  out:  "Hear!  hear!"  -It  is 
customary  in  England,  when  anything  good  or  startling 
is  said  by  the  speaker,  for  the  audience  to  cry,  "Hear ! 
hear ! " 

Allen,  taking  the  words  literally,  shouted  in  return  : 
"  Where  ?  Show  me  the  man  ! " 

"  Hear  !  hear  !"  was  heard  from  several  voices. 

"Where?"  roared  Allen;  "where  is  he.  Show 
me  the  man  ;  bring  him  up." 

"  Hear  !  hear  !  " 

"  Where  ?  " 

"  Hear !  hear ! "  resounded  through  the  room. 

As  soon  as  they  discovered  that  Allen  misunder 
stood  them,  they  kept  up  the  excitement  until  Allen, 
becoming  enraged  at  not  seeing  the  equal  to  Forrest, 
rushed  from  the  room,  exclaiming :  "I  should  like  to 
see  the  man  that  can  beat  the  "  Boy." 

On  another  occasion,  at  some  festival  given  to  Mr. 
Forrest,  Allen  was  present,  and  becoming  very  loqua 
cious,  the  great  tragedian  said  to  him  :  "  Come,  come, 
Allen,  you  had  better  go  home  and  attend  to  your 
silver  leather"  (a  theatrical  decoration  upon  which  Mr. 
Allen  prided  himself  as  the  inventor).  At  this  remark, 
it  is  said  the  Great  American  Costumer,  as  he  styled 
himself,  rose  up  indignant,  and  banging  his  hat  upon 


208  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKREST. 

his  head,  stammered  out — "  B-B  what  ud  your  Bacbeth 
or  Kichard  be  bidout  by  silber  leather/'  An  impedi 
ment  in  Allen's  speech,  and  his  indignant  manner, 
created  an  uproarious  scene. 

A    SATISFACTOKY   EXCUSE. 

Mr.  Forrest  was  once  playing  in  Richmond,  Ya., 
when  one  of  the  minor  actors  annoyed  him  terribly  by 
persisting  in  reading  his  few  lines  in  Richelieu  incor 
rectly.  Forrest  showed  him  several  times  how  to  do 
it,  but  to  no  purpose,  and  then  commenced  abusing 
him.  "  Look  here,  Mr.  Forrest,"  finally  said  the  poor 
fellow,  in  sheer  despair,  "  if  I  could  read  it  in  that  way 
I  wouldn't  be  getting  six  dollars  a  week  here."  Forrest 
said  only :  "  You  are  right ;  I  ought  not  to  expect 
much  for  that  sum,"  and  left  him  alone,  but  on  the 
conclusion  of  the  engagement  sent  him  a  check  for 
forty  dollars,  with  a  recommendation  to  act  up  to  the 
worth  of  that. 

MR.    FORREST   MEETS   HIS   MATCH. 

To  use  a  slang  word,  he  was  extremely  apt  to 
"bully"  all  in  the  theatre,  from  the  manager  down. 
But  he  once  met  his  match.  It  was  when  he  was  play 
ing  at  the  old  Broadway  Theatre,  near  Pearl  Street. 
His  pieces  were  followed  by  an  exhibition  of  lions  by 
their  tamer,  a  certain  Herr  Driesbach.  Forrest  was 
one  day  saying  that  he  had  never  been  afraid  in  all 
his  life — could  not  imagine  the  emotion.  Driesbach 
made  no  remark  at  the  time,  but  in  the  evening,  when 
the  curtain  had  fallen,  invited  Forrest  home  with  him. 
Forrest  assented,  and  the  two,  entering  a  house,  walked 
a  long  distance,  through  many  devious  passages,  all 
dark,  until  finally  Driesbach,  opening  a  door,  said : 


LIFE     OF     EDWIX     FOEREST.  209 

"This  way,  Mr.  Forrest."  Forrest  entered,  and  imme 
diately  heard  the  door  slammed  and  locked  behind  him. 
He  had  not  time  to  express  any  surprise  at  this,  for  at 
the  same  moment  he  felt  something  soft  rubbing 
against  his  leg,  and,  putting  out  his  hand,  touched 
what  felt  like  a  cat's  back.  A  rasping  growl  saluted 
the  motion,  and  he  saw  two  fiery,  glaring  eyeballs 
looking  up  at  him.  "  Are  you  afraid,  Mr.  Forrest  ?  " 
asked  Driesbach,  invisible  in  the  darkness.  "Not  a 
bit."  Driesbach  said  something  ;  the  growl  deepened 
and  became  hoarser,  the  back  began  to  arch  and  the 
eyes  to  shine  more  fiercely.  Forrest  held  out  for  two 
or  three  minutes ;  but  the  symptoms  became  so  terrify 
ing  that  he  owned  up  in  so  many  words  that  he  was 
afraid.  "  Now  let  me  out,  you  infernal  scoundrel," 
he  said  to  the  lion-tamer ;  "and  I'll  break  every  bone  in 
your  body."  He  was  imprudent  there,  for  Driesbach 
kept  him,  not  daring  to  move  a  finger,  with  the  lion 
rubbing  against  his  leg  all  the  time,  until  Forrest 
promised  not  only  immunity,  but  a  champagne  supper 
into  the  bargain. 

ROMAN    CITIZENS. 

Nearly  every  actor  who  has  ever  played  with  Mr. 
Forrest,  has  his  own  little  anecdote  to  tell  of  Forrest's 
grim  humor  or  scathing  sarcasm,  but  such  anecdotes 
mainly  depend  for  appreciation  upon  an  imitation  of 
the  tragedian's  voice  and  manner.  That  Mr.  Forrest 
had  abundant  humor  of  its  kind  no  one  can  doubt.  A 
remark  of  his  made  in  Baltimore,  a  few  years  ago,  has 
become  famous  as  a  stage  tradition.  Mr.  Forrest's  legs 
were  a  theme  of  great  admiration  to  the  world  at  large, 
and  of  no  little  pride  to  himself.  The  play  was  Vir- 
13 


210  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FOREEST. 

ginius,  and  Mr.  Forrest,  in  the  costume  of  the  Roman 
General,  was  standing  at  the  wings  in  his  usual  firm 
attitude,  and  with  his  usual  scornful  smile  gazing  at 
the  actors  and  supernumeraries  standing  on  the  stage. 
The  lower  limbs  of  the  actors  for  the  most  part  being 
plentifully  padded,  presented  a  respectable  appearance, 
but  the  poor  supers,  being,  as  is  usually  the  case  in 
American  theatres,  mere  overgrown  boys,  and  having 
no  pads,  their  limbs  were  ridiculous,  and  the  fleshings 
with  which  they  were  covered  being  a  world  too  wide 
for  their  shrunk  shanks,  their  appearance  roused  the 
ire  of  Mr.  Forrest.  Mr.  Ford,  the  manager,  passing  at 
the  time,  Forrest  called  his  attention  to  the  supers, 
and  said :  "  Mr.  Ford,  for  heaven's  sake  what  are 
those?"  "Those,"  said  the  manager,  "are  Roman 
citizens,  Mr.  Forrest/'  "  Roman  citizens !  Ye  Gods ! 
Did  Romans  have  legs  like  those  ?" 

The  air  of  utter  disgust  attending  the  words  was 
indescribable,  and  Forrest  stalked  on  the  stage  as  if  he 
could  devour  the  Roman  citizens,  legs  and  all. 

POWERFUL     ACTING. 

The  last  almanac  issued  by  the  English  theatrical 
paper  known  as  the  Era,  gave  some  amusing  but 
apocryphal  anecdotes  of-  "  powerful "  American  acting. 
On  one  occasion,  Mr.  Edwin  Forrest,  then  a  young  man, 
gave  a  tremendous  display  of  really  powerful  acting. 
He  was  supposed  to  represent  a  Roman  warrior,  and 
to  be  attacked  by  six  minions  of  a  detested  tyrant.  At 
the  rehearsals,  Mr.  Forrest  found  a  great  deal  of  fault 
with  the  supers  who  condescended  to  play  the  minions. 
They  were  too  tame.  They  didn't  lay  hold  of  him. 
They  wouldn't  go  in  as  if  it  were  a  real  fight.  Mr. 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FORREST.  211 

Forrest  stormed  and  threatened;  the  supers  sulked 
and  consulted.  At  length  the  captain  of  the  supers  in 
quired  in  his  local  slang,  "  Yer  wan  this  to  be  a  bully 
fight,  eh  ?  "  "  I  do/'  replied  Mr.  Forrest.  "  All  right/' 
rejoined  the  captain;  and  then  the  rehearsal  quietly 
proceeded.  In  the  evening  the  little  theatre  was 
crowded,  and  Mr.  Forrest  was  enthusiastically  received. 
When  the  fighting  scene  occurred,  the  great  tragedian 
took  the  centre  of  the  stage,  and  the  six  minions 
entered  rapidly  and  deployed  in  skirmishing  order.  At 
the  cue  "  Seize  him  ! "  one  minion  assumed  a  pugilistic 
attitude,  and  struck  a  blow  straight  from  the  shoulder 
upon  the  prominent  nose  of  the  Koman  hero,  another 
raised  him  about  six  inches  from  the  stage  by  a  well- 
directed  kick,  and  the  others  made  ready  to  rush  in  for 
a  decisive  tussle.  For  a  moment  Mr.  Forrest  stood 
astounded,  his  broad  chest  heaving  with  rage,  his  great 
eyes  flashing  fire,  his  sturdy  legs  planted  like  columns 
upon  the  stage.  Then  came  the  few  minutes  of  power 
ful  acting,  at  the  end  of  which  one  super  was  seen 
sticking  head  foremost  in  the  bass  drum  in  the  or 
chestra,  four  were  having  their  wounds  dressed  in  the 
green-room,  and  one  finding  himself  in  the  flies,  rushed 
out  upon  the  roof  of  the  theatre,  and  shouted  "  Fire  ! " 
at  the  top  of  his  voice  ;  while  Mr.  Forrest,  called 
before  the  curtain,  bowed  his  thanks  pantingly  to  the 
applauding  audience,  who  looked  upon  the  whole  affair 
as  part  of  the  piece,  and  "had  never  seen  Forrest  act 
so  splendidly." 


CHAPTER  XVIT. 


SHAKESPEARE. THE  TURKISH  BATH. SHORT  LET 
TER. INCIDENT  IN  AN  INSANE  ASYLUM. HERED 
ITARY  GOUT. — QUACK  MEDICINE. 

WE  are  not  about  to  speak  of  Mr.  Forrest's  medi 
cal  knowledge  as  being  derived  from  a  Univer 
sity  education  and  a  regular  course  of  study ;  there  was 
no  diploma  given,  nor  fees  paid  to  professors.  A  knowl 
edge — superficial,  it  is  true — may  be  attained  of  various 
diseases  without  devoting  years  to  study.  In  the  first 
place,  he  studied  the  various  phases  of  insanity,  vis 
ited  asylums  both  in  this  country  and  in  Europe,  held 
frequent  conversations  with  the  celebrated  Dr.  Rush, 
and  more  recently  with  Dr.  Gross,  one  of  our  most  em 
inent  physicians.  He  studied  with  an  eye  to  render 
his  knowledge  available  to  his  profession.  It  was  this 
knowledge  that  made  his  King  Lear,  Hamlet,  and  Yir- 
ginius  so  great.  The  study  of  medicine  is  not,  we 
think,  a  proper  expression,  at  least  in  its  application 
to  Mr.  Forrest — we  should  say  the  study  of  man — and 
it  was  here  lie  laid  the  foundation  for  his  knowledge 
of  the  former  by  close  study  of  the  latter.  Again,  he 
had  studied  the  anatomy  of  the  human  frame;  he 
could  talk  well  upon  the  subject;  he  had  all  the  phys 
iological  and  technical  terms  at  his  tongue's  end,  and 

(212) 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FORKEST.  213 

could  hold  " learned  discourse"  with  men  of  science 
upon  the  subject. 

Mr.  Forrest  believed  firmly  in  the  power  of  elec 
tricity  in  curing  many  diseases,  both  by  the  battery, 
and  by  manipulation.  He  possessed  great  power  himself, 
by  bringing  his  influence  to  act  upon  a  body  weaker 
than  his  own.  The  writer  of  this  found  almost  imme 
diate  relief  from  a  severe  nervous  headache  under  the 
manipulating  power  exercised  upon  him  by  Mr.  Forrest. 

Mr.  Forrest  studied  the  insane  characters  of  Shake 
speare  from  that  great  author's  instructive  physiological 
knowledge,  as  well  as  he  did  from  those  whom  he  vis 
ited  in  the  asylums.  What  numerous  texts  did  he 
find  in  Shakespeare  to  study !  In  Macbeth,  he  found 
the  cue  to  that  monarch's  acts ;  in  Lear,  almost  every 
phase  of  insanity,  induced  by  old  age,  wrong  and  pas 
sion.  In  Hamlet,  the  monomania  leading  him  to  med 
itate  suicide — in  fact,  Shakespeare  studied  from  this 
point — furnishes  the  actor  with  all  the  traits  essential 
to  the  proper  rendition  of  the  character.  A  writer, 
speaking  upon  this  subject,  says: — "Upon  no  subjects, 
perhaps,  has  this  extraordinary  man  (speaking  of 
Shakespeare)  been  more  curiously  manifested  than 
those  of  physiology  and  psychology.  In  fact,  we  be 
lieve  a  very  complete  physiological  and  psychological 
system  could  be  educed  from  the  writings  of  Shake- 
peare — a  system  in  complete  accordance,  in  almost 
every  essential  particular  with  that  which  we  now  pos 
sess,  as  the  result  of  the  scientific  research  and  expe 
rience  of  the  last  two  centuries/' 

Our  readers  will  observe,  at  least  that  portion  who 
have  carefully  studied  Shakespeare,  a  striking  simi 
larity  between  that  great  author  and  the  subject  of 


214  LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FORKEST. 

these  reminiscences.  The  latter,  like  the  former,  was 
a  poor  boy — the  one  held  horses  at  the  theatre  en 
trance,  the  other  formed  amateur  companies,  and  be 
came  an  actor,  as  did  the  holder  of  horses;  the  one 
became  a  great  author,  the  other  a  great  actor ;  the 
one  wrote  plays,  and  the  other  acted  them. 

Although  it  did  not  require  so  many  years  of  study, 
to  make  Forrest  a  great  actor,  as  it  did  Shakespeare  to 
become  the  master  spirit  of  English  literature,  still  it 
took  both  time  and  application  to  learn  something  of 
other  professions  to  be  as  perfect  in,  as  that  of  his  own. 

Shakespeare,  who  never  studied  medicine  as  a  sci 
ence,  displays  in  his  writings  considerable  knowledge 
of  diseases  to  which  the  human  system  is  subject. 
Dryden  says :  "In  him  we  find  all  arts  and  sciences, 
all  moral  and  natural  philosophy,  without  knowing 
that  he  ever  studied  them." 

Shakespeare,  as  the  young  actor-poet,  became  the 
companion  of  gentlemen — the  teacher  of  a  court,  the 
delight  of  his  sovereign,  and  the  "  darling  of  the 
nation." 

Forrest,  at  an  early  age  became  the  companion  of 
gentlemen,  and  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  under  their 
auspices,  became  the  Roscius  of  the  American  stage. 

Shakespeare,  it  is  said,  was  a  butcher's  boy — a 
wool  dealer  and  a  glover's  boy.  Forrest  was  a  ship-chan 
dler's  boy,  and  a  shop  boy  in  a  German  notion  house. 

Shakespeare  was  born  in  a  pleasant  English  home, 
of  good  Protestant  parents;  he  went  to  the  village 
school  and  learned  grammar. 

Forrest  was  born  in  a  pleasant  home,  of  good  Pro 
testant  parents ;  he  went  to  school  and  learned  to  read 
and  write. 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  215 

Shakespeare's  heart  was  warmed  by  "  sitting  at 
gooclmen's  feasts." 

Forrest's  heart  was  warmed  by  sitting  at  a  good 
mother's  simple  fare. 

What  was  said  of  Shakespeare  can  be  said  of  For 
rest:  "No  matter  what  his  struggles  may  have  been 
while  yet  a  young  man,  if  he  go  through  with  honor 
and  health  untouched,  his  early  trials  would  but  add 
to  the  enjoyment  of  life  in  after  years.  But  if  in  set 
ting  out  he  chanced  to  be  a  little  wild,  he  would  all 
the  more  likely  be  made  acquainted  with  a  great  va 
riety  of  strange  people,  and  get  a  near  view  of  their 
characters  and  habits." 

Our  readers  must  understand  that  Mr.  Forrest's 
knowledge  of  medicine,  and  the  interest  he  took  in  the 
sufferings  of  others,  was  entirely  of  a  philanthropic 
character.  He  had  but  one  complaint,  that  of  gout, 
and  to  the  cure  of  which  he  devoted  both  time  and 
money. 

Mr.  Forrest  placed  great  virtue  in  the  Turkish 
bath,  and  had  one  made  in  his  own  house,  to  which  he 
resorted,  we  often  thought,  too  frequently  for  his 
health.  In  a  letter  he  wrote  to  us  on  one  occasion, 
wherein  alluding  to  a  portion  of  the  one  we  had  sent 
him,  he  says  ;  "I  am  sorry  to  hear  that  you  still  suffer 
from  headache.  Why  cannot  you  be  persuaded  to  try 
the  efficacy  of  the  Turkish  bath,  which  equalizes  the 
circulations  of  the  body  and  purifies  the  blood  more 
effectually  than  any  medicine  can  do  ?  Try  it  first  at 
a  temperature  of  140°,"  etc.,  etc. 

I  did  not  try  it,  and  still  live ! 

He  read  almost  every  book  that  came  out  on  the 
subject  of  medicine,  cures,  etc.  He  had  read  numer- 


21G  LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FORREST. 

ous  essays  on  gout  and  rheumatism.  But  neither  the 
essays  nor  the  doctors  could  drive  the  former  from  his 
system.  He  did  not,  however,  generally  lend  himself 
to  quacks,  but  on  one  occasion  he  did;  the  result  of 
this  man's  nostrum  came  near  killing  him.  The  short 
est  letter  which  Mr.  Forrest  probably  ever  wrote,  was  to 
request  the  writer  to  procure  a  certain  book  on  medi 
cine  for  him,  the  merits  and  character  of  which  we  had 
been  discussing.  Here  it  is  : 

"MONDAY  NIGHT. 

"My  DEAR  MR.  REES: — Please  get  me  the  book. 
"Yours,  "EDWDS"  FORREST." 

We  have  said  that  Mr.  Forrest,  in  studying  Lear, 
visited  insane  asylums,  and  the  "  Old  Man's  Home," 
for  the  purpose  of  catching  the  peculiar  traits  of  the 
"mind's  disease,"  as  well  as  the  walk  and  actions  of 
the  aged.  How  admirably  he  carried  out  these  sad 
phases  of  humanity  on  the  stage  we  all  know. 

Mere  imitation,  however,  does  not  constitute  origi 
nality  in  art ;  in  the  language  of  criticism,  it  is  called 
invention.  Had  Mr.  Forrest  merely  imitated  others,  he 
never  could  have  established  a  style  of  acting  pecu 
liarly  his  own.  For  instance,  had  he  followed  others  in 
their  rendition  of  Lear,  we  should  have  had  a  mere 
copy  instead  of  a  great  original.  He  went  beyond 
Cooper's  and  Kean's  views  of  the  choleric  King — even 
back  to  those  of  a  Shakespeare.  To  produce  a  great 
picture,  he  first  studied  the  character,  and  then  sought 
a  model  among  the  old  men  of  our  city.  One  he  se 
lected — a  poor,  aged,  tottering  creature — fourscore  and 
upwards,  and  whose  peculiar  walk  and  action  he 
watched  with  an  artist's  eagerness.  In  the  language 
of  Dry  den  he  said :  "I  have  followed  him  everywhere, 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOKKEST.  217 

I  know  not  with  what  success,  but  I  am  sure  with  dil- 
i^tnce  enough ;  my  images  are,  many  of  them,  copied 
from  him,  and  the  rest  are  imitations  of  him." — [Pry- 
den;  Letter  I. — Sir  E.  Howard. 

On  one  occasion,  speaking  of  his  visit  to  hospitals 
and  insane  asylums,  he  related  a  thrilling  incident 
which  occurred  during  his  visit  to  one  of  these  institu 
tions  in  Paris. 

Among  the  insane  was  a  man  whose  whole  appear 
ance  and  manners  were  those  of  a  sane  person.  During 
the  conversation  with  the  keeper,  he  noticed  the  eyes 
of  this  man  intensely  fixed  upon  him.  A  pause  occur 
ring  in  their  discussion  upon  some  point,  the  keeper 
turned  his  head  for  a  moment ;  in  the  next,  Mr.  Forrest 
found  himself  seized  with  maniac  fury  by  the  man  with 
staring  eyes,  and  thrown  completely  over  his  head ;  it 
was  the  work  of  an  instant;  he  had  scarcely  time — 
stunned  as  he  was — to  defend  himself  from  the  infu 
riate  man,  nor  was  it  until  two  or  three  attendants 
arrived,  that  he  could  be  secured. 

Mr.  Forrest  was  well  versed  in  homoeopathic  cures, 
and  could  tell  you  what  medicine  was  necessary  to  be 
taken  for  almost  any  disease.  He  was  not,  however,  a 
convert  to  the  system,  although  he  occasionally  took 
these  sugared  doses.  Living  as  Mr.  Forrest  did,  alone, 
the  many  dark  hours  of  his  dreary  life  no  doubt  had  an 
effect  upon  his  spirits.  He  did  not  court  society ; 
hence  the  few  who  visited  him  were  the  old  friends  of 
his  early  days.  To  talk  over  past  scenes,  recall  the 
reminiscences  of  youth,  fight  over  again  the  mimic 
battles  of  the  stage — these  visits  seemed  to  give  him 
new  life ;  his  full,  sonorous  voice  sounded  through 
his  library  like  the  notes  of  some  Cathedral  organ — 


218  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORKEST. 

there  was  music  in  it.  The  writer  of  this  had  frequent 
opportunities  of  noticing  the  rise  and  progress  of  his 
thermometer  of  health,  and  although  it  slightly  varied, 
there  were  times  when  the  indications  would  have 
puzzled  the  most  scientific. 

One  day,  when  he  seemed  unusually  depressed,  we 
asked  him,  very  cautiously,  however,  if  he  did  not,  at 
times,  suffer  from  a  fullness  of  the  head,  as  it  had  fre 
quently  struck  us  that  there  were  apparent  symptoms 
of  a  determination  of  blood  to  that  region.  "Oh,  no!" 
he  said,  "from  here  up/'  pointing  to  the  seat  of  the 
gout,  "I  am  all  right;  were  it  not  for  this  hereditary 
curse,  I  would  be  as  well  as  ever." 

"  Hereditary  ?  "  I  exclaimed. 

"  Yes ;  but  not  from  my  parents.  But  from  my 
grandfather,  it  came  down  to  the  third  generation ; 
hence  the  phrase,  the  sins — you  know  the  rest." 

Although  we  did  not  express  it,  the  thought  struck 
us  that  the  victim  in  the  third  generation  was  the  most 
likely  to  transmit  it  to  his  posterity. 

Our  reason  for  asking  the  above  question  was  that 
we  had  observed,  more  particularly  a  short  time  before 
his  death,  certain  symptoms  which  we  thought  tended 
to  apoplexy ;  such  as  the  stoppage  of  the  flux  and  re 
flux  of  his  spirits,  as  if  the  usual  voluntary  motion  of 
the  nerves  was  unnatural.  At  times  his  face  would  be 
flushed,  at  others  pale  and  cadaverous.  Again,  he 
was  all  life  and  animation  ;  and  at  no  time  did  he  ap 
pear  in  better  health  than  he  did  a  few  days  before  his 
death.  And  yet  that  insidious  foe  to  man,  apoplexy, 
in  an  instant  did  its  fearful  work. 

Mr.  Forrest  had  collected  a  number  of  cures  for 
various  diseases  ;  and  whenever  he  heard  of  a  case  for 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FOKREST.  219 

which  he  had  an  authenticated  remedy,  he  either 
recommended  it,  or  sent  it  to  those  afflicted. 

We  think  Mr.  Forrest's  attention  was  drawn  to  the 
study  of  medicine  in  consequence  of  his  meeting  so 
many  passages  in  Shakespeare  alluding  to  the  science. 
In  conversation  with  him  upon  the  subject,  we  felt  as 
sured  that  part  of  his  study  of  medicine  was  based 
more  upon  curiosity  than  a  desire  to  master  its  mys 
teries.  We  allude  here  to  medicine  generally ;  for  he 
studied  the  phases  of  insanity  for  a  far  different  pur 
pose.  Like  many  amateurs,  more  particularly  those  of 
the  middle  ages,  the  study  of  chemistry,  and  phar 
macy,  excited  his  curiosity ;  and  those  who  were 
familiar  with  his  dressing-room  found  a  perfect  labora 
tory  ;  and  had  he  lived  in  the  age  of  Alchemy  and  As 
trology,  he  would  have  been  taken  for  an  investigator 
of  the  visible  phenomena  of  matter.  And  yet  he  could 
not  tell  you  why  and  wherefore  this  vast  collection  of 
bottles  was  made,  for  what  purpose,  what  object,  be 
yond  the  remark  —  "  Merely  for  experiments  ! "  These 
he  never  tried  upon  himself  internally,  we  know ;  exter 
nally,  some  of  them  were  used ;  but  with  little  or  no 
effect  for  what  they  were  intended,  viz. :  cure  of  the  gout. 

We  have  shown  a  striking  similarity  between  the 
youth  of  Shakespeare  and  of  Forrest ;  in  age,  this  simi 
larity  still  existed ;  and  perhaps  in  no  one  more  strik 
ing  illustration,  than  that  we  have  given  in  that  of  the 
study  of  medicine.  He  would  frequently  quote  pas 
sages  having  some  allusion  to  his  own  ailment ;  as,  for 
instance,  when  groaning  under  a  severe  attack  of  gout, 
he  would  exclaim :  "  I  am  like  the  owner  of  a  foul  dis 
ease.  To  keep  it  from  divulging  let  it  feed,  even  on 
the  pith  of  life." 


220  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

Any  one  conversant  with  Shakespeare  knew  full 
well  that  he  never  omitted  an  opportunity  of  £rxhi bit 
ing  his  knowledge  of  other  professions  beside  that  of 
his  own — not  egotistically  given,  but  to  carry  out  the 
peculiar  characteristics  of  the  personages  of  his  dramas. 
With  Mr.  Forrest  this  peculiarity  was  equally  discerni 
ble  ;  but,  like  Shakespeare,  never  displayed  but  in  con 
nection  with  the  philosophy  of  his  art.  Forrest  had 
less  vanity  than  any  other  actor  that  ever  trod  the  stage. 

It  may  be  said  of  Mr.  Forrest  as  it  was  said  of  Shake 
speare  ;  "  Let  us,  therefore,  intelligently  admire  Shake 
speare's  varied  knowledge  of  the  common  affairs  of  life, 
by  considering  his  vast  capacity  in  connection  with  the 
fact  that  this  knowledge  of  his,  at  which  we  are  so 
much  astonished,  is  of  that  kind  and  degree  that  comes 
from  observation,  and  not  by  special  study  or  daily 
practice/' 

Health  and  disease  are  questions  of  such  impor 
tance,  that  it  would  be  strange  indeed  if  their  phe 
nomena  had  found  no  place  in  Shakespeare's  writings. 
Equally  strange  would  it  have  been  if  Mr.  Forrest,  who 
suffered  so  much  from  an  hereditary  disease,  had  not 
bestowed  some  attention  to  the  nature  of  the  disorder 
by  which  he  was  afflicted. 

In  striving  to  gain  relief  from  recipes  he  came 
across,  or  in  consequence  of  becoming  interested  in 
other  diseases,  apart  from  that  of  his  own,  he  left 
behind  him  some  very  valuable  recipes,  among  which 
is  an  invaluable  one  for  the  cure  of  "  St.  Vitus's 
dance  " — (Chorea.) 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

ENGLISH  PREJUDICE  AGAINST  AMERICAN  AUTHORS  AND 
ACTORS. ORIGIN  OF  THEIR  DRAMA,  NOT  AS  LEGITI 
MATE  AS  OUR  OWN. SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  BOOTH'S 

RECEPTION    IN    LONDON. FORREST'S     SECOND     PRO 
FESSIONAL  VISIT. ITS  RESULT. 

TT  is  said  that  "  genius  knows  no  country,"  yet  it  has 
-  been  shown  that  prejudice  gives  it  a  locale  when 
prejudice  sways  the  judgment.  England  has  always 
claimed  the  honor  of  giving  birth  to  whatever  genius 
and  talent  America  imagined  was  indigenous  to  its  soil. 
It  is  our  purpose  to  speak  more  particularly  of  the 
stage  and  drama  in  this  connection.  It  is  true,  their 
literary  treasures  have  been  accumulating  from  Alfred, 
Bede  and  Chaucer,  through  a  succession  of  centuries, 
swelling  up  the  vast  catalogue  of  science  with  the  most 
enlightened  and  intellectual  names  that  have  gilded  the 
firmament  of  letters  in  any  age  or  hemisphere.  Ours 
can  scarcely  be  estimated  more  than  seventy  years,  and 
yet  the  origin  of  the  English  drama,  springing  as  it 
did  from  the  corruptions  of  the  Catholic  Church,  with 
its  Miracle  plays,  followed  by  the  "  Mysteries  and  Mo 
ralities,"  was  by  no  means  creditable  either  to  the 
morals  or  the  literature  of  the  age,  while  that  of  ours 
can  boast  of  a  more  classical  origin,  and  the  character 
of  our  earliest  productions  of  a  far  more  legitimate 
character.  (221) 


222  LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FORREST. 

In  England,  the  first  spectacle  of  a  dramatic  nature 
was  the  Miracle  play  of  St.  Catharine,  mentioned  by- 
Matthew  Paris  as  having  been  written  by  Geoffrey,  a 
Norman,  afterwards  Abbott  of  St.  Albans,  and  per 
formed  at  Dunstaple  Abbey,  in  the  year  1110. 

The  ancient  religious  dramas  were  distinguished  by 
the  names  of  Mysteries,  precursors  of  the  regular  drama, 
which  consisted  of  a  dramatic  representation  of  re 
ligious  subjects,  from  the  New  or  Old  Testament,  apoc 
ryphal  stories,  or  lives  of  the  saints,  which  were  of  the 
nature  of  tragedy,  representing  the  acts  of  martyrdom 
of  a  saint  of  the  Church.  Some  of  these  pieces  con 
sisted  of  a  single  subject  only,  as  "  The  Conversion  of 
St.  Paul/'  "  The  Casting  out  of  the  evil  Spirits  from 
Mary  Magdalene/'  etc. 

The  devil  was  frequently  one  of  the  persons  of  these 
mysteries.  He  was  constantly  attended  by  the  vice,  or 
clown,  whose  chief  business  was  to  play  to  his  Satanic 
Majesty,  tricks,  and  strike  him  with  his  wooden  dagger 
till  he  roared,  which  always  elicited  bursts  of  laughter. 
Adam  and  Eve  were  represented  in  a  state  of  actual 
nudity,  and  so  late  as  James  I.,  a  pastoral  was  played 
before  the  queen  and  her  women,  in  which  some  of  the 
characters  were  almost  naked.  Such  is  the  origin  of 
England's  early  stage  history  ! 

The  first  play  written  in  this  country  was  by  Benja 
min  Coleman,  in  1690,  entitled  Gustavus  Vasa,  and 
performed  by  the  students  of  Harvard  College.  The 
first  piece  performed  was  Shakespeare's  Kichard  III., 
by  a  regular  company  of  comedians,  New  York,  Mon 
day,  5th  of  May,  1750  ;  Kichard  III.,  by  Thomas  Kean. 

Such  being  the  origin  of  our  drama,  there  was  no 
necessity  of  making  holy  matters  subjects  for  amuse- 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORREST.  223 

ment.  It  was  probably  well  for  us  that  the  Church  of 
America  had  more  respect  for  the  Bible  than  those 
who  madt3  religion  a  farce  and  the  saints  its  characters. 
A  drama  like  ours,  having  no  monks  nor  priests  to 
control  it,  would  naturally  produce  good  actors.  So  it 
did,  and  how  a  few  of  them  were  treated  in  England 
from  sheer  prejudice  and  a  determination  to  encourage 
nothing  but  of  indigenous  growth,  we  purpose  to  show. 
To  such  an  extent  was  this  national  feeling  carried, 
that  actors  of  English  birth,  whose  reputations  were 
made  in  this  country,  and  were  considered  as  American 
actors,  by  education,  actually  found  no  favor  among 
their  own  countrymen.  Among  these  was 

JUNIUS    BRUTUS    BOOTH. 

He  was  born  at  St.  Pancras,  near  London,  1796 ;  made 
his  first  appearance  on  the  American  stage,  as  a  star,  at 
Petersburg,  Virginia,  in  1821.  It  was  probably  more 
Booth's  fault,  rather  than  English  prejudice,  that  ren 
dered  him  unpopular  in  London.  He  strongly  con 
tested  the  palm  with  Kean  of  being  the  better  Richard ; 
but  a  striking  similarity,  or  rather  as  the  critics  call  it, 
imitation  of  that  great  actor,  materially  lessened  his 
claims.  He  however,  found  in  this  country  more  just 
and  liberal  criticism,  and  to  the  last  divided  honors  with 
the  best  actors  of  both  hemispheres.  We  pass  over 
others  who  were  coldly  received  in  England  and  come 
to  Edwin  Forrest's  second  professional  tour  to  that 
country.  As  the  name  of  Charles  William  Macready 
will  be  closely  connected  with  the  events  arising  out  of 
this  visit,  it  is  necessary  to  say  something  of  that  gen 
tleman  here. 

Mr.  Macready  was  born  March  3rd,  1793,  in  London. 


224  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORKEST. 

In  September,  1826,  he  came  to  this  country  with  the 
reputation  of  being  the  best  actor  on  the  English  stage. 
He  opened  at  the  Park  Theatre,  New  York,  October  2nd, 
as  Virginius.  The  receipts  of  the  house  were  $1GSO. 
On  January  10th,  1827,  he  appeared  in  Philadelphia, 
at  the  Chestnut  Street  Theatre,  as  Macbeth ;  returned 
to  England  in  1827.  In  1843  he  re-visited  America, 
acting  in  all  the  principal  cities  in  the  United  States. 
It  was  during  this  visit  that  the  merits  of  the  actor 
were  freely  discussed,  and  his  cold,  stately,  mechanical 
style,  compared  with  the  gushing  genius  of  a  Kean, 
Booth  and  Forrest,  found  but  few  advocates  ;  these 
were  chiefly  Englishmen,  who  were  in  some  manner 
connected  with  the  press.  The  New  York  Herald  had 
critics,  as  well  as  prejudiced  writers,  who  endeavored 
by  every  means  to  extol  Mr.  Macready  at  the  expense 
of  Mr.  Forrest.  In  New  Orleans,  a  certain  Henry 
Percy  Leonard,  an  Englishman,  commenced  a  series  of 
articles  against  Mr.  Forrest,  while  at  the  same  time  he 
applauded  Macready.  The  writer  of  these  articles  was 
in  that  city  at  the  time,  and  not  having  the  same 
opinion  of  the  actor,  nor  a  very  high  estimate  of  the 
moral  and  social  character  of  "  Percy  "  himself,  he  ex 
posed  the  man  and  his  motives.  During  Mr.  Ma 
cready' s  engagement  in  Philadelphia  it  is  well  known 
how  we  defended  Mr.  Forrest  against  those  who  were 
the  advocates  of  the  English  actor  :  the  result  of  our 
labors  was  the  removal  of  our  name  from  the  free  list, 
by  Mr.  E.  A.  Marshall,  the  manager,  influenced  by 
Charles  William  Macready. 

Thus  was  the  attempt  made  to  muzzle  the  press, 
and  silence,  if  possible,  independent  criticism  ;  and  to 
this  bold  movement  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Macready,  was 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORREST.  225 

ho  indebted  for  a  more  correct  estimate  of  his  dramatic 
ability  than  that  fulsome  flattery  had  given  him.  It 
also  tended  to  place  Mr.  Forrest's  claim  much  higher, 
and  lessened  those  of  the  great  mechanical  actor. 

Mr.  Marshall  subsequently  apologized  to  us  for  act 
ing  as  he  did  in  erasing  our  name  from  the  list — it  was 
because  Macready  desired  it:  observing,  "my  poverty 
and  not  my  will  yielded  to  the  great  man's  demand." 
Macready  returned  to  England,  disappointed,  soured, 
and  revengeful.  In  Forrest  he  found  his  superior,  who 
came  out  of  this  test  the  conqueror,  and  the  acknowl 
edged  master  of  the  American  stage. 

Shortly  after  Mr.  Macready 's  departure,  Mr.  Forrest 
made  his  arrangements  to  fulfil  his  engagement  in 
London.  Unconscious  of  the  storm  that  awaited  him 
— unprepared  for  the  malice  of  the  disappointed — he 
arrived  in  England,  and  made  his  appearance  at  the 
Princess'  Theatre,  February  17th,  1845.  As  we  have 
said,  he  was  totally  unprepared  for  the  reception  he 
met  with.  The  London  press  had  not  attacked  him 
in  advance — he  knew  nothing  of  a  premeditated  design 
to  drive  him  from  the  stage ;  the  curtain  rose ;  the 
actor  appeared  ;  he  was  greeted  with  hisses  and  groans 
from  a  large  portion  of  the  audience.  It  was  evident 
that  a  combination  was  formed  against  him ;  not  alone 
because  he  was  a  superior  actor,  but  because  he  was  an 
American.  The  insult  was,  in  an  eminent  degree, 
national.  The  fame  of  a  great  actor  is  the  property  of 
his  country ;  and  when  we,  in  good  faith,  entrusted 
that  property  to  England,  it  should  have  been  re 
spected,  not  abused.  Never  yet  did  the  American 
people  refuse  to  render  justice  to  English  actors;  even 
those  of  mediocre  ability  were  kindly  received,  many 
14 


226  LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

of  whom  have  made  our  country  their  home,  and  be 
come  naturalized  citizens. 

That  Macready  was  instrumental  in  getting  up  this 
opposition,  none  dare  deny  ;  the  proofs  are  beyond  a 
question  of  doubt.  His  friend,  John  Forster,  editor  of 
the  Examiner,  was  busily  engaged  in  writing  against 
Edwin  Forrest  during  his  engagement  in  1845.  As  an 
evidence  of  his  mendacity,  we  give  the  following  from 
the  Examiner  of  the  22nd  of  February,  1845  :— 

"  Our  old  acquaintance,  Mr.  Forrest,  the  American 
tragedian,  has  played  Othello  at  the  Princess'  Theatre 
during  the  past  week,  and  it  would  seem  from  the  account 
(we  did  not  see  the  tragedy),  with  entire  abatement  of 
that  'sound  and  fury,'  which  distinguished  his  performance 
nine  years  ago.  '  Nor  should  you  do  it  too  terribly,'  says 
that  excellent  dramatic  critic,  Peter  Quince,  'for  you 
would  fright  the  Duchess  and  the  ladies.'  According  to 
the  Times,  the  too  terrible  has  subsided  into  the  too  tame. 
But  we  must  venture  to  think  the  change  a  clear  improve 
ment,  and  great  gain  to  the  audience." 

Who  but  Mr.  Forster,  the  creature  at  that  time,  of 
Mr.  Macready,  could  display  such  venom  and  vulgarity  ? 
Contrast  the  following  notice  of  Forrest's  Lear,  written 
by  Douglas  Jerrold,  London,  March  9th,  1845,  with 
the  low,  vulgar  article  from  the  Examiner. 

EDWIN"   FORREST,   AS   KING   LEAR. 

"  A  more  truthful,  feeling  and  artistical  display  of  gen 
uine  acting,  we  never  witnessed.  From  the  first  scene  to 
the  last,  he  was  the  Lear  of  our  immortal  bard.  Not  a 
line,  look  or  gesture  told  of  Mr.  Forrest,  but  Lear  was 
Lear  from  the  first  scene  to  the  last.  We  never  saw  mad 
ness  so  perfectly  portrayed.  It  is  true  to  nature — pain 
fully  so ;  and  to  the  utter  absence  of  mannerism,  affecta 
tion,  noisy  declamation,  and  striving  for  effect,  may,  nay 
must,  be  attributed  the  histrionic  triumph  achieved  by  Mr. 
Forrest  in  this  difficult  part.  By  his  display  of  Thursday 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKREST.  227 

evening,  Mr.  Forrest  has  stamped  himself  a  man  of  genius. 
We  candidly  confess  we  did  not  think  it  was  in  him, 
and  we  w^ere  much  electrified,  as  was  every  one  in  the 
house.  The  whole  audience,  in  fact,  were  taken  by  sur 
prise;  and  the  unanimous  cheering  at  the  conclusion  of 
each  act,  must  have  convinced  Mr.  Forrest  how  much  his 
performance  was  appreciated.  He  must  have  been  grati 
fied,  for  the  expressions  of  delight  which  greeted  him  were 
as  heartfelt  as  they  were  merited.  The  imprecation  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  first  act,  was  most  impressively  and  ad 
mirably  delivered,  and  drew  dowrn  thunders  of  applause 
from  one  and  all.  We  never  heard  this  awful  curse  so 
powerfully  uttered.  It  was  dreadful  from  its  intenseness 
and  reality.  Had  we  space  we  could  point  out  numberless 
excellencies  in  Mr.  Forrest's  performance.  A  more  tal 
ented  exhibition  we  never  wish  to  see ;  it  is  impossible  to 
imagine  anything  more  intellectual.  The  care  and  study 
bestowed  upon  this  part  must  have  been  great,  and  the 
actor  has  identified  himself  most  completely  with  it. 
It  is  refreshing,  now-a-days,  to  see  one  of  Shakespeare's 
plays  so  brought  before  us,  and  we  feel  exceedingly 
obliged  to  Mr.  Forrest  for  having  reminded  us  of  the 
palmy  days  of  Kemble  and  Kean ;  and  wrhen  we  add  that 
his  Lear  is  equal  in  every  respect  to  that  of  the  two  mighty 
tragedians  whose  names  are  hallowed  by  the  admirers 
of  genius,  we  think  we  can  scarcely  bestow  higher  praise." 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

MR.    FORREST. — RECEPTION    IN    ENGLAND.  —  COMBINA 
TION. — INTRIGUE. — MACREADY'S   COMPLICITY  WITH 

FORSTER. FORREST    AND  MACREADY  MEET  IN  PARIS 

AND    AT   ED1NBURG. PAS    DE    MOUCHOIR,  DISTASTE 
FUL     TO     FORREST. BULWER     AND     HIS     PLAYS. 

CORRESPONDENCE    BETWEEN    AUTHOR  AND  ACTOR. 

THE    PRESS    TAKES    PART. — JOHN    FORSTER   OF    THE 
EXAMINER. 

"A/TR.  MACREADY  had  previously  been  in  this 
-  country,  and  played  engagements  in  every  city, 
and  made  a  fortune.  He  was  extolled  by  a  portion  of 
the  press,  and  leniently  treated  by  those  who  did  not 
consider  him  a  great  actor.  But  instead  of  returning 
this  kindness,  he  acted  openly  towards  Mr.  Forrest  as 
his  determined  foe.  In  Paris,  Mr.  Macready  and  Mr. 
Forrest  met.  The  latter  was  anxious  to  appear  on 
the  French  boards,  but  Mr.  Macready  threw  obstacles 
in  the  way,  and  this  was  the  first  time  that  the  two 
parties  were  enemies.  Mr.  Mitchell,  the  enterprising 
lessee  of  the  St.  James  Theatre,  in  London,  took  an 
English  company  of  actors  to  the  French  capital,  with 
Mr.  Macready  at  the  head  of  the  list.  Macready  was 
to  be  the  hero — the  great  attraction  of  Paris.  He 
failed,  however,  to  draw  money  to  the  treasury,  and 
Mr,  Mitchell  lost  a  large  sum- by  the  speculation.  Mr. 

(228) 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  229 

Forrest  had  letters  of  introduction  to  Mr.  Mitchell  from 
his  friends  in  London ;  but  Macready  was  jealous,  lest 
Forrest  should  prove  the  greater  star,  and  he  cautioned 
Mitchell  not  to  allow  Forrest  to  appear.  The  result 
was  that  Mr.  Mitchell  refused  to  see  Mr.  Forrest. 

The  parties  returned  to  London.  The  hypocrisy 
of  Macready  is  apparent  in  his  note  of  invitation  to 
Mr.  Forrest  to  dine  with  him.  The  latter,  knowing 
the  intrigue  that  had  been  carried  on  in  Paris  between 
Macready  and  Mitchell,  declined  the  invitation,  as 
every  high-minded  man  should.  This  refusal  induced 
the  friends  of  Macready  to  get  up  a  story  to  the  effect 
that  Forrest  was  offended  because  "he  was  not  invited  ! 
Is  it  likely  that  Forrest  could  take  offence  at  such  a 
trifle,  when,  at  the  same  time,  he  was  invited  to  dine 
with  many  of  the  leading  nobility  of  England,  but 
especially  of  Scotland,  where  he  passed  several  months 
as  their  guest  ?  It  will  be  seen  that  in  every  move 
ment  of  Mr.  Macready,  jealousy  of  the  great  American 
actor  was  the  prominent  cause. 

"  Of  all  the  passions,  Jealousy 
Exacts  the  hardest  services,  and  pays 
The  bitterest  wages.     Its  service  is — 
To  watch  an  enemy's  success ;  its  wages — 
To  be  sure  of  it." 

The  next  mean  act  towards  the  American  actor, 
brought  through  the  influence  of  Macready,  was  when 
Mr.  Forrest  appeared  at  the  Princess'  Theatre,  in  Lon 
don.  Macready  had  been  endeavoring  for  a  long  time 
to  effect  an  engagement  with  some  London  manager, 
but  was  unsuccessful.  The  success  of  Forrest  stung 
him,  and  he  resolved  to  "put  him  down."  It  was  said 
at  the  time  that  he  or  his  friends  actually  hired  men  to 
visit  the  theatre  and  hiss  Forrest  off  the  stage,  and  he 


230  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORKEST. 

was  consequently  received  with  a  shower  of  hisses  be 
fore  he  was  heard  !  This  mean  conduct  was  followed 
up  by  the  press,  by  which  Mr.  Forrest  was  most  out 
rageously  assailed,  and  not  him  alone,  but  his  country, 
which  was  proud  to  own  him  as  one  of  her  sons. 

Having  the  evidence  of  the  origin  of  these  as 
saults,  is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  Mr.  Forrest  felt  in 
dignant  against  a  man  whom  his  countrymen  had  hon 
ored  and  treated  with  courtesy  ?  [The  evidence  of  Mr. 
Macready's  complicity  with  John  Forster  and  others, 
to  hiss  Mr.  Forrest  will  be  given  when  we  come  to  the 
Astor  Place  Opera  House  riot.] 

We  now  come  to  the  first  outbreak  of  Mr.  Forrest, 
and  it  is  one  we  regretted  at  the  time  and  to  which  we 
objected.  Forrest  and  Macready  met  in  Edinburg. 
Macready  was  playing  Hamlet  at  the  Theatre  Koyal. 
Forrest  was  present.  During  the  beginning  of  the 
piece,  Mr.  Forrest  applauded  several  times,  and,  as  we 
are  informed  by  an  eye-witness,  he  started  the  applause 
when  some  brilliant  effect  had  been  given  to  a  passage, 
so  that  the  whole  house  followed.  But  now  comes 
Forrest's  great  error,  which  Mr.  Macready  never  forgave 
— the  error  of  hissing  that  gentleman  for  introducing 
the  pas  de  mouchoir  at  the  close  of  the  play  scene,  and 
performing  sundry  other  similar  antics.  This  act  of 
Mr.  Forrest  drew  the  attention  of  the  Dublin  audience 
to  this  scene,  when  Mr.  Macready  repeated  the  play  a 
few  nights  subsequently.  The  editor  of  the  Edinburg 
Weekly  Chronicle,  March  14th,  1846,  says:  "On  Mon 
day  he  personated  Hamlet,  when  he  again  introduced 
tliQ  pas  de  mouchoir.  A  few  injudicious  admirers  at 
tempted  to  applaud  the  harlequinade,  which  elicited 
hisses  from  so  many  of  the  audience  that  we  fear  our 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORREST.  231 

contemporary,  the  /Scotsman,  will  be  unable  to  en 
joy  the  satisfaction  of  individually  stigmatizing  the 
offenders/'  Mr.  Forrest  should  have  remembered  that 
Hamlet,  being  mad,  was  just  as  likely  to  dance  a  horn 
pipe  as  anything  else.  This  was  not  original  with  Mr. 
Macready,  as  we  saw  it  done  on  the  boards  of  old 
Drury  (Chestnut  Street  Theatre)  long  before  Mr.  Ma- 
cready's  name  or  fame  had  reached  this  country. 

Out  of  this  incident  Macready  contrived  to  create 
a  great  deal  of  sympathy  for  himself.  He  was  at 
the  time  part  proprietor  of  the  London  Examiner. 
Forster,  who  did  all  things  to  please  Macready,  gave  a 
false  coloring  to  the  whole  affair,  denouncing  Forrest 
in  the  Examiner  and  other  papers. 

Had  Mr.  Macready  received  Mr.  Forrest  in  London 
as  one  gentleman  and  actor  should  have  received  an 
other,  and  extended  to  him  that  courtesy  Mr.  Forrest 
had  shown  him  here,  how  much  rancor,  ill  feeling,  and 
even  bloodshed  might  have  been  avoided.  Bat  ingrat 
itude  not  unfrequently  finds  its  reward,  but  alas !  too 
late  at  times  to  remedy  the  evil  it  produces  in  society. 
The  innocent  often  suffer  for  the  guilty  acts  of  others. 

"  Not  faster  yonder  rowers'  might 

Fling  from  their  oars  the  spray  ; 

Not  faster  yonder  rippling  bright 

That  tracks  the  shallop's  course  in  light, 
Melts  in  the  lake  away, 

Than  men  from  memory  erase 

The  benefits  of  former  days." 

But  Mr.  Macready's  persecution  did  not  stop  here. 
Forrest  desired  to  appear  in  London  in  Bulwer's  plays 
of  Lady  of  Lyons,  and  Richelieu.  To  obtain  this  he 
had  to  apply  to  the  author.  He  reasoned  upon  this 
principle,  that  if  the  Garrick  Club  deemed  him  worthy 
of  the  compliment  of  a  dinner  in  1836,  and  Macready 


232  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORREST. 

and  Kemble  honored  the  festival  with  their  presence,  lie 
might  ask  with  a  good  grace  the  privilege  of  playing 
the  production  of  one  of  their  honored  members.  The 
following  correspondence  will  enable  the  reader  to  an 
swer  the  question,  why  Mr.  Bulwer  refused  to  allow 
Mr.  Forrest  to  appear  in  plays  in  which  Mr.  Macready 
had  acquired  a  high  reputation  : 

"  26  REGENT  STREET,  LONDON. 

"SlR: — Being  desirous  of  producing  at  the  Princess' 
Theatre  the  plays  of  Richelieu  and  the  Lady  of  Lyons, 
I  take  the  liberty  of  addressing  you  to  know  if  you  have 
any  objection  to  them  being  represented  there,  and  what 
would  be  the  author's  nightly  fee. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  yours,  with  the  highest 
respect,  "  EDWIN  FORREST. 

"  To  SIR  E.  L.  BULWER,  Bart." 

"  MARCH  4th,  1845. 

"  SIR  : — I  regret  that,  having  invariably  declined  to 
allow  the  representation  of  my  plays,  nightly,  at  any  metro 
politan  theatre,  I  cannot  comply  with  your  request.  I 
could  not  allow  Richelieu  and  the  Lady  of  Lyons  to  be  per 
formed  for  a  less  period  than  ten  nights  each,  upon  a  pay 
ment  beforehand  of  fifty  guineas  for  the  tioo,  and  suppo 
sing  that  the  twenty  performances  were  included  within 
five  weeks — at  which  time  the  right  of  performance  (sup 
posing  that  accident  prevented  the  completing  the  twenty 
representations)  would  cease — and  return  entirely  at  my 
disposal. 

"I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  E.  L.  BULWER. 

"  E.  FORREST,  Esq." 

Mr.  Bulwer  did  not  even  condescend  to  reply  to  Mr. 
Forrest's  note  until  nearly  ten  days  had  expired.  The 
reader  will  perceive  from  this  correspondence  that  Mr. 
Bulwer  knew  it  would  be  impossible  for  Mr.  Forrest  to 
comply  with  his  conditions.  What  influence  was 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  author  during  these  ten 
days  ? 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FOEEEST.  233 

It  was  ascertained  that  Macready  and  Bulwer  had 
been  much  together,  and  that  the  former  had  prevailed 
on  the  latter  not  to  allow  Forrest  the  use  of  his  com 
positions.  [The  correspondence  between  Mr.  Forrest 
and  Mr.  Macready  upon  this  subject  will  be  given  in 
their  proper  place,  as  it  was  not  published  until 
1848-9.] 

Shortly  after  Mr.  Forrest's  death,  an  article  appeared 
in  the  New  York  Clipper,  headed  "  Edwin  Forrest  in 
London.  Personal  Keminiscences  of  him.  By  Le 
Voila."  The  article  contains  very  little  of  interest 
beyond  table  gossip,  having  more  of  romance  about  it 
than  reality.  One  passage,  however,  we  give  here,  as  it 
contains  an  allusion  to  the  subject  upon  which  we  are 
engaged  in  this  number : 

"  The  visit  made  to  London  in  1845  exerted  a  wonder 
ful  influence  upon  the  subsequent  career  of  Mr.  Forrest — 
an  influence  much  more  enduring  and  profound  than  his 
most  intimate  friends  in  this  country  could  truly  imagine. 
In  the  spring  of  1846  the  writer  passed  some  weeks  in  a 
pleasure-visit  to  the  British  metropolis,  and,  while  in  com 
pany  with  Mr.  Charles  H.  Peabody,  the  originator  of  the 
once  famous  Knickerbocker  Magazine,  and  of  the  very 
popular  Parlor  Journal,  I  renewed  an  acquaintance  with 
Mr.  Forrest  which,  in  America,  had  been  almost  formal. 
At  that  moment  our  tragedian  was  engaged  in  a  contro 
versy,  through  the  colums  of  the  Times,  with  Mr.  Macready, 
and  although  his  communications  were  suffered  courteously, 
to  appear  in  that  daily,  the  general  tone  and  temper  of  the 
press  were  decidedly  hostile  to  him  as  an  actor.  It  is  due 
to  Mr.  Forrest  to  say  that  he  had  never  decried  the  artistic 
ability  of  his  presumptive  rival,  who,  however,  belonged  to 
that  traditional  school  of  imitators  of  the  Kemble  family, 
so  popular  in  London,  and  comparatively  unknown  to  us, 
preferring,  as  we  did,  that  style  of  acting  proceeding  from 
Garrick,  through  John  Frederick  Cooke,  Edmund  Kean, 
and  the  elder  Booth.  Neither  did  Forrest  hiss  Macready 
for  his  performance  of  Hamlet,  but  merely  gave  expression 


234  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

to  his  displeasure  at  his  rendition  of  an  isolated  point  in 
the  tragedy.  In  the  scene  wherein  the  prince  invites  the 
court  to  the  play,  Mr.  Macready  preceded  the  royal  cor 
tege,  waving  a  pocket-handkerchief,  while  executing  a  sort 
of  waltz  around  the  stage.  This  decidedly  ludicrous  exhi 
bition  of  madness  in  philosophic  gentlemen  of  mature  years, 
which  Mr.  Forrest  humorously  designated  as  a  pas  de  mou- 
choir,  undoubtedly  excited  his  imagination,  and  he,  un 
guardedly,  gave  vent  to  his  disapprobation  in  a  half-stifled 
hiss.  Probably  it  would  have  been  wiser  in  the  American 
to  have  allowed  the  free-born  Britain  to  have  capered  in 
perfect  silence,  for  the  over  zealous  friends  of  Macready 
misconstrued  both  the  intent  and  the  extent  of  his  indiscre 
tion,  and  a  howl  went  forth  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  land  that '  Forrest  had  had  the  presumption 
to  hiss  Macready.' 

"  Our  tragedian  had  been  well  received  by  crowded 
audiences  at  the  Princess',  but  having  been  criticised,  as 
he  considered,  unjustly,  and  by  parties  in  the  interest  of 
Macready — notably  Mr.  Forster,  of  the  Examiner — he  had 
resolved  neither  to  renew  the  engagement  or  to  accept 
any  others  made  before  his  unpleasantness  with  the  English 
actor  occurred.  He  was,  when  the  writer  met  him,  merely 
stopping  in  London  with  his  wife,  on  a  visit  to  her  family, 
preparatory  to  a  tour  on  the  European  continent.  I  had 
recently  made  a  prolonged  visit  to  Wales,  and  on  my  way 
towards  London  had  indulged  in  a  sort  of  pilgrimage  on 
the  footsteps  of  Owen  Glendower,  visiting  many  of  the 
localities  mentioned  in  Shakespeare's  Henry  IV.  A  de 
scription  of  these  places  interested  Mr.  Forrest  deeply,  as 
I  found  him  to  be  well  versed  in  the  earlier  dramatic 
literature,  and  most  anxious  to  obtain  all  manner  of  books 
relating  to  the  Elizabethan  stage.  After  this  casual  meet 
ing,  Mr.  Forrest  exhibited  towards  me  the  greatest  friend 
ship,  as  the  companionship  of  a  brother  American,  with 
ample  leisure  on  his  hands,  was  an  agreeable  break  in  the 
monotony  of  a  residence  amid  a  community  for  which  he 
entertained  little  respect,  and  which  he  was  commencing 
almost  to  hate." 

The  attacks  made  upon  Mr.  Forrest  by  the  English 
press  were  followed  up  here,  in  which  the  New  York 


LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FOEEEST.  235 

Herald  took  the  lead.  The  following  article  first  ap 
peared  in  this  country  in  the  Herald,  while  Mr.  Forrest 
was  playing  in  Liverpool,  after  a  stormy  engagement 
in  London.  It  may  be  well  to  state,  however,  that  he 
triumphed  even  there  over  his  enemies,  received  high 
testimonials  from  the  gentlemen  of  the  press  and  the 
literary  talent  of  the  metropolis.  We  give  the  article 
as  it  appeared  in  the  New  York  Herald  and  republish- 
ed  in  Scott's  Weekly  Paper,  of  Philadelphia,  with  edi 
torial  remarks.  The  writer  of  this  was  interested  in 
Scott's  Weekly  Paper,  and  used  its  columns  in  defend 
ing  Mr.  Forrest  from  his  enemies : 

ME.  FORREST  IN  EUROPE. — ATTACKS  OF  THE  ENGLISH  PRESS. 
— A   CORRUPTING   INFLUENCE. — PALTRY  COMPARISONS. 

"'The  Liverpool  Mercury  states  that  Mr.  Edwin  For 
rest  has  taken  his  departure  suddenly  in  the  good  ship 
Rochester.  Mr.  Forrest  was  advertised  to  take  his  farewell 
benefit  at  Liverpool,  but  did  not  do  so.  It  is  certain  that 
he  felt  much  disappointed  at  his  reception  on  this,  his  last 
visit ;  but  in  reality  he  has  no  one  but  himself  to  blame. 
He  engaged  at  a  theatre  not  fitted  for  the  representation 
—he  played  parts  in  which  the  public  had  seen  him  in 
other  and  better  pieces — parts  too  in  which  that  public  had 
awarded  the  palm  of  superiority  to  Macready  and  Charles 
Keau.  The  only  novelty  he  attempted  was  Metamora, 
and  no  talent  could  uphold  such  a  drama  as  that.  Had  Mr. 
Forrest  offered  anything  at  once  new  and  endurable,  the 
public  would  not  have  deserted  him.  Many  characters 
were  suggested  for  him — Zanga,  Bajazet,  Octavian,  Gam 
bia,  amid  the  rest — but  he  stuck  to  Macbeth,  Lear,  and 
one  or  two  other  parts,  in  which  it  was  evident  the  public 
mind  had  been  made  up  not  to  acknowledge  him.  The 
general  opinion  appeared  to  be,  that  on  his  physical  abili 
ties  (not  on  his  mental  ones)  he  must  rely.  John  Bull 
was  prepared  to  receive  him  with  open  arms  as  a  melo 
drama  actor,  not  as  a  tragedian.  We  are  informed  that  he 
will  make  a  tour  of  the  States,  and  then  quit  the  stage  for- 


236  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

ever.  He  is  the  first  American  actor,  and  his  absence  will 
create  a  void  not  speedily  to  be  filled  up.' 

"  The  above  article  first  appeared  in  this  country  in  the 
New  York  Herald,  and  has  since  travelled  the  rounds  of 
the  American  press,  without  note  or  comment.  Our  object 
in  copying  it,  is  to  express  astonishment  at  some  of  the 
assertions  therein,  and  to  say  that  it  is  writh  no  little  degree 
of  surprise  that  we  have  noticed  articles  of  a  similar  tenor 
copied  into  our  papers,  as  if  every  word  they  contained 
were  solemn  truths. 

"  It  was  undoubtedly  copied  into  our  papers  like  that 
of  many  others,  and  taken  as  all  such  criticisms  are,  with  a 
certain  degree  of  allowance,  nor  were  the  comments  of  the 
press  unfavorable  to  the  American  tragedian.  It  was  well 
known  here  that  a  determined  opposition  was  made  against 
Mr.  Forrest,  and  we  were  prepared  for  it. 

"  The  Liverpool  Mercury  says  Mr.  Forrest  appeared  in 
parts  '  in  which  that  public  had  awarded  the  palm  of 
superiority  to  Macready  and  Charles  Kean.'  Good  gra 
cious,  Max — Will  some  one  take  this  man  away.  This 
Liverpool  Mercury  man,  we  mean.  Macready  and  Charles 
Kean !  Really,  if  anything  had  been  wanting  to  prove  the 
pre-paid,  well  bought  English  press,  we  have  it  here. 
Charles  Kean  awarded  the  palm  of  superiority  over  Edwin 
Forrest !  It  is  too  ludicrous,  yet  it  is  but  a  repetition  of 
the  vile  slang  that  has  been  hurled  at  Mr.  Forrest  since  his 
appearance  at  the  Princess',  in  London,  some  eighteen 
months  ago. 

"And  what  was  the  cause  of  all  that  violent  oppo 
sition  ? 

"  Mr.  Macready  had  been  in  this  country,  and  although 
our  toadying  press  bespattered  him,  and  his  acting,  with 
fulsome  praise,  his  trip  was  a  failure — a  lamentable  failure 
— not  from  opposition  by  any  one  press  in  the  country,  but 
from  the  lack  of  merit.  The  automaton  style  of  Mr.  Mac- 
ready  pleased  not ;  the  genius — the  fire — the  originality — 
the  pathos — the  natural  development  of  the  passions — the 
soul-stirring,  invigorating  style  of  Forrest — the  Kean  style 
— was  wanting,  and  mechanism  was  not  relished — Mr. 
Macready's  mannerism  failed,  while  Mr.  Forrest's  genius 
triumphed. 

"  Mr.  Forrest  visited  Europe. 

"  It  is  well  known  that  he  had  scarcely  made  his  appear- 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  237 

ance  ere  disapprobation  was  manifested — and  we  have  Mr. 
N.  P.  Willis  for  authority,  and  he  in  this  has  not  been  de 
nied  or  doubted — by  persons  who  acknowledge  that  it  was 
from  no  ill-will  to  Mr.  Forrest,  but  they  were  paid  to  kiss 
him.  Who  paid  them  ? 

"  The  press  was  violent  in  its  opposition.     Why  ? 

"  Mr.  Forrest  refused  to  buy  their  praise,  and  stood,  as 
he  had  done  for  twenty-five  years  previously,  upon  his 
individual  merit  as  an  actor.  With  the  people  he  was  suc 
cessful  ;  and  the  great  force  of  his  acting,  and  the  rapturous 
applause  that  attended  it,  in  King  Lear,  compelled  the  Lon 
don  press — the  Times  among  them — to  acknowledge  they 
had  never  seen  it  equalled  !  And  yet  it  is  gravely  stated 
in  the  above,  that  the  'palm  of  superiority  had  been  award 
ed  to  Macready  and  Charles  Kean  in  that  very  character. 

"  Talent  is  confined  to  no  clime — it  knows  no  locality, 
and  the  people  of  this  country  have  been  prolific  in  their 
homage  to  merit  from  abroad — seldom  bestowing  much 
upon  that  of  home  origin.  Hence,  the  abuse  of  '  the  first 
American  actor'  by  the  British  press.  We  have  not  the 
courage  to  sustain  talent  of  our  own  while  we  lavish  adula 
tions  upon  doubtful  merit  of  other  climes. 

"  '  The  characters  of  Zanga,  Bajazet,  Octavian,  Gambia, 
etc.,  had  been  suggested  for  "him,'  says  the  Liverpool  Mer 
cury,  i  but  he  would  stick  to  Macbeth,  Lear  and  one  or 
two  other  parts.'  Suggested  for  him,  indeed.  Probably, 
the  Mercury  man  was  grieved  that  Mr.  Forrest  stuck  to 
those  characters — particularly  if  he  is  so  friendly  to  the 
other  gentlemen — for  Mr.  Forrest  is  the  only  living  repre 
sentative  of  the  two  characters  named,  with  others  of  the 
Shakesperian  caste.  This  is  placed  beyond  all  doubt  by 
the  honest  dramatic  critics  of  all  countries." 

Many  have  confounded  John  Forster,  of  the  Ex 
aminer,  with  John  Foster,  the  celebrated  Essayist 
and  eloquent  Baptist  clergyman.  He  was  a  man  of 
the  purest  heart,  and  of  the  most  exalted  intellect. 
He  cultivated  letters,  for  that  enlarged  the  sphere  of 
his  usefulness,  and  taught  him  (to  use  his  own  words) 
"to  live  along  the  progression  of  sublime  attain 
ment." 


238  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKEEST. 

John  Forster,  whom  Mr.  Macready  "  has  the  honor 
to  call  friend/'  was  cast  in  a  different  mould. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

FORREST    HISSES    MACREADY. THE    RIGHT  OF  DOING    SO 

QUESTIONED. COMBINATIONS  IMPROPER. ARE  AC 
TORS  COMPETENT  CRITICS? HAMLET/S  INSANE  AC 
TIONS. FORREST  VS.  SNOBBISM  IN  GOTHAM. THE 

RIGHTS    OF    HISSING   AT    THEATRES    CONSIDERED. 

~TN  the  last  chapter  we  spoke  of  Mr.  Forrest's  hiss- 
-*-  ing  Macready  on  the  2nd  of  March,  1846,  while 
that  gentleman  was  playing  Hamlet  at  the  Theatre 
Royal,  Edinburg — whether  from  personal  considerations 
or  upon  critical  grounds,  are  questions  a  difference  of 
opinion  has  never  yet  reconciled.  At  the  time  this  in 
cident  occurred,  we  wrote  the  following  article,  which  is 
the  only  one  to  which  we  believe  Mr.  Forrest  ever  made 
an  exception ;  but  that  mattered  little  to  us.  We  wrote 
as  we  thought  then,  and  see  no  reason  now  to  suppress 
the  article  in  connection  with  these  "  Reminiscences." 
The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  article : 

"  As  we  purpose  to  allude  to  some  of  the  facts  in  relation 
to  what  are  termed  '  the  Macready  Riots,'  as  a  preliminary 
to  which  we  shall  briefly  state  that  on  Forrest's  visit  to 
England  in  1845,  a  regular  organized  band  of  ruffians  were 
hired  by  some  person  or  persons  to  hiss  him  off,  while  at 
the  same  time  the  press,  under,  it  is  said,  the  conduct  of  a 
few  popular  actors,  made  a  decided  attack  upon  him,  in 
which  criticism,  courtesy  and  all  the  rights  of  hospitality 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  239 

were  most  outrageously  abused.  An  editor  of  one  of 
these  presses  was  a  personal  friend  of  Mr.  Macready,  of 
which  he  boasted  in  this  country. 

******* 

"  Mr.  Forrest  hissed  Mr.  Macready  for  introducing  a 
fancy  dance  in  '  Hamlet' — we  should  have  hissed  him  for 
attempting  to  muzzle  the  press,  but,  as  we  are  opposed  to 
that  system  of  criticism,  we  adopted  the  more  legitimate 
mode — the  pen. 

"  We  now  come  to  that  portion  of  Mr.  Forrest's  life 
which  we  are  reluctantly  compelled  to  censure — and  that 
is,  the  hissing  of  Mr.  Macready  at  the  time  and  place  men 
tioned.  The  play  was  '  Hamlet.'  Whatever  cause,  be 
yond  the  real  one  given,  Mr.  Forrest  imagined  or  conceived 
he  had,  to  insult  a  brother  actor  thus  publicly,  it  displayed 
a  passionate  temper  and  that  lack  of  courtesy  due  to  those 
who  are  endeavoring  to  amuse  and  instruct  their  fellow- 
men.  In  the  first  place,  an  actor  has  no  right  to  hiss;  his 
position  before  the  public  is  as  its  servant.  As  well  might 
a  member  of  Congress  hiss  a  brother  member  because  he 
does  not  pronounce  a  word  right,  or  agree  with  the  critic 
in  opinions  under  discussion.  Nor  has  any  one  individual 
a  right  to  hiss  an  actor;  if  there  be  anything  he  does  not 
like,  he  can  retire ;  is  the  house  to  be  disturbed  because 
one  man  is  not  pleased?  are  five  hundred  persons  to  be  de 
barred  the  pleasure  they  derive,  because  one  is  dissatisfied  ? 
No !  nor  is  there  anything  to  justify  hissing,  but  palpable 
neglect,  indecency  and  vulgarity  ;  and  even  then,  one  man 
has  no  right  to  disturb  five  hundred,  whose  views  and 
ideas  of  what  constitutes  morality,  diifer  from  his.  When 
Mr.  Forrest  hissed  Mr.  Macready,  he  was,  it  is  true,  an 
auditor,  and  a  brother  actor.  Mr.  Macready's  notion  of 
Hamlet  differed  from  Mr.  Forrest's,  and  he  hissed.  What 
would  Mr.  Forrest  have  thought  of  Mr.  Booth,  if  that 
gentleman  hissed  his  Richard  III.  ? 

******* 

"  Combinations  have  been  formed  by  a  few  individuals  to 
hiss  an  actor  off  the  stage  for  personal  reasons,  and  in  al 
most  every  instance  they  have  succeeded,  simply  because 
the  audience  did  not  exercise  its  right  to  put  them  out. 
Every  star  has  some  peculiar  business  on  the  stage,  or  new 
reading,  at  least,  differing  from  others.  Mr.  Forrest  has 


240  LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOEEEST. 

many,  and  what  would  he  think  of  those  who,  to  use  his 
own  words,  '  have  the  right'  to  hiss,  compel  and  force  an 
actor  to  act,  do,  perform  and  read  in  accordance  with  their 
dictation  ?  No !  it  is  all  wrong;  the  pen  is  the  only 
weapon  to  be  used  in  criticism ;  nor  should  the  theatre  be 
come  the  arena  for  the  display  and  exercise  of  that  most 
delicate  art. 

"  Dr.  Johnson,  in  paper  No.  25  of  '  The  Idler,'  speaking 
upon  this  subject,  uses  the  following  strong  and  forcible 
language  : — '  I  have  always  considered  those  combinations 
which  are  formed  in  the  play-house,  as  acts  of  fraud  or 
cruelty.  He  that  applauds  him  who  does  not  deserve 
praise,  is  endeavoring  to  deceive  the  public.  He  that  hisses 
in  malice  or  in  sport  is  an  oppressor  and  a  robber.' 

"  Mr.  Forrest,  in  his  published  letter  defending  his 
right  to  hiss,  falls  into  several  errors,  which  we  most 
sincerely  regret.  In  the  first  place,  he  says :  '  Mr.  Mac- 
ready  thought  fit  to  introduce  a  fancy  dance  into  his  per 
formance  of  Hamlet.'  In  the  second  place,  he  contends 
that  '  a  man  can  manifest  his  pleasure  or  displeasure  after 
the  recognized  mode.'  Thirdly,  an  actor,  in  his  capacity  as 
a  spectator,  has  a  right  to  hiss,  because,  '  from  the  nature 
of  his  studies,  he  is  much  more  competent  to  judge  of  a 
theatrical  performance  than  any  soi-disant  critic,  who  has 
never  himself  been  an  actor  ! ' 

"  Having  already  shown  the  fallacy  of  such  reasons,  we 
now  ask,  what  is  the  recognized  mode  alluded  to  ?  Who 
are  to  constitute  themselves  critics  under  the  new  system  ? 
No  one  individual,  we  contend,  has  the  right  to  disturb  the 
house  ;  it  must  be  two-thirds  or  none.  The  minority  can 
not  put  down  the  majority.  Hence  there  are  no  recog 
nized  modes  but  those  of  the  pen  and  the  press.  For  one 
man  to  hiss  an  actor  is  a  direct  insult,  not  only  to  him  but 
to  the  audience. 

"  The  next  point  is,  are  actors,  from  the  nature  of  their 
studies,  competent  to  be  critics  ?  We  contend  they  are 
not.  They  are  actors,  and  invariably  have  notions  peculiar 
ly  their  own ;  and  from  the  very  '  nature  of  their  studies,' 
are  incapable  of  judging  or  correcting  the  errors  of  their 
brother  artists.  It  is  true,  an  actor  will  criticise ;  but  are 
his  criticisms  just  ?  Are  not  actors,  like  poets,  hemmed  in 
by  an  atmosphere  of  their  own— each  thinking  that  he  ex 
cels,  and  forming  ideas  and  opinions  directly  opposite  to 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  241 

those  of  the  author  himself,  as  is  frequently  the  case?  The 
critic's  art  is  above  that  of  the  actor.  The  one  identifies 
himself  with  the  image  prepared  for  him,  and  he  presents 
himself  before  us,  for  our  approval  or  censure.  The  ques 
tion  is,  whether  the  actor  or  the  audience  should  be  the 
judge.  If  the  actor,  then  the  critic's  art  ceases  at  once. 
When  a  writer  in  London  criticised  Kemble's  dress  in 
Othello,  that  actor  admitted  its  truth,  and  gave  as  a  rea 
son,  that  if  he  were  to  dress  the  character  as  the  authority 
called  for,  it  would  be  too  weighty  for  him  ;  and  hence  the 
error  even  to  this  day.  Who  was  right  here — the  actor  or 
the  critic  ?  This  critic  did  not  correct  Kemble  while  on 
the  stage ;  on  the  contrary,  he  adopted  the  only  legitimate 
mode,  and  that  was,  and  is,  the  pen.  Shakespeare,  an  actor 
and  author,  never  presumed  to  criticise.  He  created  sub 
jects  for  the  critic's  pen.  l  Addison  wrote  and  Addison 
criticised,'  is  a  well-known  phrase.  So  did  Dr.  Johnson. 
But  neither  of  these  great  men  were  actors.  In  fact,  to 
the  credit  of  the  stage  be  it  said,  no  one  has  ever  pre 
sumed  to  set  himself  up  as  a  censor  over  his  brother  actors. 

"  We  seldom  hear  one  actor  speak  well  of  another;  the 
same  with  authors  and  painters.  They  are  all  superlative 
in  their  own  estimation,  and  yet  we  are  told,  '  from  the  na 
ture  of  their  studies,  they  are  the  best  critics.'  The  fact  is, 
an  actor  may  deem  himself  honored  when  the  critic  notices 
him.  Criticism  was,  in  the  golden  days  of  the  drama, 
considered  the  highest  order  of  writing;  and  when  Addi 
son  wrote  and  Johnson  criticised,  the  actor  would  have  cut 
a  bad  figure  in  entering  the  list  against  such  odds.  Criti 
cism  and  the  rules  which  govern  it  are,  we  contend,  in 
compatible  with  the  actor's  position  as  well  as  his  studies. 

"  '  True  criticism,'  says  Blair,  'is  the  application  of  taste 
and  good  sense  to  the  several  fine  arts.  The  object  which 
it  proposes  is,  to  distinguish  what  is  beautiful  and  what  is 
faulty  in  every  performance ;  from  particular  instances  to 
ascend  in  general  principles ;  and  so  to  form  rules  or  con 
clusions  concerning  the  several  kinds  of  beauty  in  works 
of  genius.  Criticism  is,  therefore,  above  all  the  arts.'  " 

We  think  an  actor  is  excusable  in  introducing  by 
action  any  ridiculous  folly  in  the  scene  of  what  Forrest 
called  a  fancy  dance.     Hamlet  being  mad,  the  audience, 
15 


242  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FOEEEST. 

when  the  fit  is  on  him,  is  prepared  for  almost  any  sort 
of  outbreak.  Our  readers,  however,  must  not  take  our 
view  of  this  particular  phase  in  Hamlet's  insanity  from 
the  acting  copy.  The  following,  from  the  folio  of  1623, 
will  show  Hamlet's  mental  condition  in  a  very  differ 
ent  light  from  the  text  of  the  modern  acting  copy : 

King. — "  Give  me  some  light.     Away  ! 

AH. — Lights — lights — lights ! 

[Exeunt  all  but  Hamlet  and  Horatio.'} 

Ham. — Why  let  the  stricken  deer  go  weep, 
The  hart  ungalled  play ; 

For  some  must  watch,  while  some  must  sleep  ; 
Thus  runs  the  world  away. 

Would  not  this,  sir,  and  a  forest  of  feathers  (if  the  rest  of  my  for 
tunes  turn  Turk  with  me),  with  two  provincial  roses  on  my  razed 
shoes,  get  me  a  fellowship  in  a  cry  of  players,  sir  ? 

Hor. — Half  a  share. 

Ham. — A  whole  one,  I, 
For  thou  dost  know,  0  Damon,  dear ! 
This  realm  dismantled  was 
Of  Jove  himself ;  and  now  reigns  here 
A  very — very — paiock  !  " 

The  word  peacock  was  introduced  by  Pope  ;  nor  are 
we  enabled  to  discover  by  the  oldest  authorities  why  in 
the  old  quartos,  as  well  as  in  the  folio  of  1623,  it  is 
written  paiocke,  and  in  one  of  the  quartos  paioc,  which 
the  folio  of  1632  changes  to  pajock.  If  Shakespeare  in 
tended  to  apply  the  word  to  Hamlet,  or  to  the  King  of 
Denmark,  as  being  a  very — very  "peacock,"  it  is 
equally  difficult  to  determine ;  but  there  it  is,  and  we 
take  it  as  an  evidence  of  Hamlet's  insanity.  Shake 
speare  may  have  borrowed  the  idea  from  Pliny,  who  in 
speaking  of  this  "  proud  and  conceited  fowl/'  says  : 

"  The  peacock  farre  surpasseth  all  the  rest  of  this  kind, 
as  well  as  for  beautie,  as  also  for  wit  and"  understanding 
that  he  hath ;  but  principally  for  the  pride  and  glorie  that 
hee  taketh  in  himselfe.  For  perceiving  at  any  time  that  he 
is  praised,  and  well  liked,  he  spreadeth  his  tail  around, 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FORREST.  243 

shewing  and  setting  out  his  colors  to  the  most,  which  shine 
againe  like  precious  stones." 

Hamlet  in  this  scene  acts  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
induce  him  to  ask  Horatio  if  he  would  not  make  a 
good  actor,  to  which  his  friend  readily  assents ;  hence 
the  words,  "  forest  of  feathers,"  etc.  Horatio,  to  humor 
Hamlet  in  his  "  peacock"  conceit,  as  he  struts  about  the 
stage,  uttering  unmeaning  words,  says:  "You  would 
"be  entitled  to  half  a  share/'  which  was  the  pay  of  a 
second-rate  actor.  Hamlet  claims  a  higher  rank,  and 
exclaims:  "A  whole  one." 

In  connection  with  these  disjointed  words,  a  fancy 
dance  we  do  not  think  would  be  out  of  place.  At 
least  we  do  not  consider  it  sufficient  cause  for  public 
censure,  coming  as  it  did  in  a  Jiiss.  The  action  might 
elicit  criticism,  which  even  then  would  be  simply  a  dif- 
ence  of  opinion. 

On  one  occasion  when  Mr.  Macready  enacted  Ham 
let  here,  he  assumed  in  this  scene  the  manners  of  a  silly 
youth,  tossed  his  head  right  and  left,  and  skipped  back 
and  forth  across  the  stage  five  or  six  times. 

Actors,  in  Shakespeare's  time,  had  no  salaries  as 
now.  The  receipts  were  divided  into  shares,  of  which 
the  proprietors  of  the  theatres,  or  "  house-keepers,"  as 
they  were  called,  had  some  ;  and  each  actor  had  one  or 
more  shares,  or  parts  of  a  share,  according  to  his  rank 
or  interest.  In  1608,  the  Blackfriars  Theatre  was 
held  by  eleven  members  of  the  company,  on  twenty 
shares,  of  which  Shakespeare  owned  four,  while  some 
others  had  but  a  half  share  each.  j 

It  was  certainly  a  great  oversight  in  Shakespeare  to 
introduce,*  in  the  tragedy  of  Hamlet,  incidents  and 
illusions  occurring  some  four  hundred  years  after  the 


244  LIFE    OP    EDWIN    FOREEST. 

supposed  transactions  upon  which  the  play  was 
founded.  The  history  of  Hamlet,  or  Hamleth,  is  found 
in  the  Danish  historian,  Saxo-Gramaticus,  who  died 
about  1204.  The  works  of  this  historian  are  in  Latin, 
and  in  Shakespeare's  time  had  not  been  translated  into 
any  modern  language.  Shakespeare,  therefore,  must 
have  read  the  original.  That  Shakespeare  adopted  the 
same  period  of  action  as  related  by  Saxo-Gramaticus, 
there  can  be  no  doubt ;  hence  the  passages  alluded  to  as 
occurring  in  the  seventeenth  century,  can  only  be  set 
down  as  anachronisms,  or  merely  thrown  in  as  local  hits, 
at  actors  and  others  of  the  period.  Hamlet's  advice  to 
the  players  maybe  also  quoted:  "To  split  the  ears  of 
the  groundlings,"  etc.,  could  not  apply  to  the  stage  in 
Denmark  in  the  twelfth  or  thirteenth  centuries. 

THE    RIGHT    OF    HISSING  AT    THEATRES. 

The  right  of  individuals  to  hiss  in  public  places, 
seems  to  be  but  imperfectly  understood.  It  has  long 
since  been  decided,  both  here  and  in  Europe,  that  a 
man  has  the  right  to  hiss,  and  denounce  publicly  any 
thing  that  is  offensive  to  morals  and  the  expression  of 
sentiments  tolerating  murder,  arson,  and  treason.  As 
regards  the  right  of  hissing  in  a  theatre,  the  very  char 
acter  of  such  exhibitions  requires  some  potent  power 
to  keep  both  manager  and  actor  within  the  bounds  of 
decency. 

Lord  Mansfield,  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Macklin,  stated 
that  a  British  audience  had  a  right  to  express  their 
applause  or  disapprobation  of  plays  and  actors  in  the 
usual  manner  ;  but  if  it  could  be  proved  that  any  per 
son  or  persons  went  night  after  night  to  the  theatre 
for  the  purpose  of  preventing  an  actor  exercising  his 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FOKEEST.  245 

profession,  or  to  injure  the  manager  or  proprietors,  such 
person  or  persons  would  not  only  be  subject  to  an  ac 
tion  at  law,  but  might  be  indicted  for  the  offence.  In 
deed,  we  can  go  back  to  the  year  1629,  when  a  com 
pany  of  French  players,  chiefly  females,  who  had  been 
expelled  from  their  own  country  for  indecent  exhibi 
tions,  appeared  at  Blackfriars,  London ;  they  were 
hissed,  hooted,  and  pippin-pelted  from  the  stage.  If 
wo  had  been  as  moral  in  the  year  1819,  when  the 
French  ballet  company  appeared  here  and  shocked 
modesty  with  their  short  skirts  and  low-neck  dresses, 
our  stage  would  have  been  far  more  respectable  than 
it  ever  has  been  since. 

In  Prynni's  Histriomastix,  1634,  is  inserted  a  mar 
ginal  note  in  these  words :  "  Some  .Frenchwomen,  or 
monsters  rather,  in  Michaelmas  term,  1629,  attempted 
to  act  a  French  play  at  the  Blackfriars  play-house, 
an  impudent,  shameful,  un womanish,  graceless,  if  not 
more  than  wantonish,  attempt."  Another  account 
says  :  "  Furthermore  you  should  know  that  last  daye, 
certaine  vagrant  French  players,  who  had  beene  ex 
pelled  from  their  owne  countrey,  and  those  women  did 
attempt  thereby,  giving  just  offence  to  all  virtuous 
and  well-disposed  persons  in  this  town,  to  act  a  certain 
lascivious  and  unchaste  comedye  in  the  French  tongue, 
at  the  Blackfrairs.  Glad  I  am  to  saye  they  were  hissed, 
hooted,  and  pippin-pelted  from  the  stage,  etc." 

In  the  old  English  theatres,  as  well  as  in  those  of 
our  own,  the  audience  expressed  its  disapprobation  or 
approbation  in  much  the  same  manner  as  they  do  now, 
by  clapping  of  hands,  exclamations,  hisses,  groans,  and 
by  various  imitations,  such  as  that  of  cats,  dogs,  cocks, 
etc.  Marston,  in  the  introduction  to  his  "  What  You 


246  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

Like/'  1607,  says:  "Monsieur  Snuff,*  Monsieur  Mew, 
and  Cavaliere  Blirt,  are  three  of  the  most  to  be-feared 
auditors ; "  and  farther  on  he  asks  if  the  poet's  resolve 
shall  be  "struck  through  with  the  blirt  of  a  goose 
breath?"  So  that  the  technical  phrase  of  "treating 
an  actor  with  goose"  was  understood  at  a  very  early 
period  of  our  stage  history.  Indeed,  the  audience  in 
the  year  1654  had  the  complete  control  of  the  theatres. 
Edmund  Gayton,  in  his  "Festivous  Notes  on  Don 
Quixote,"  says:  "I  have  known  upon  one  of  these 
festivals,  but  especially  at  Shrovetide,  when  the  players 
have  been  appointed,  notwithstanding  their  bills  to  the 
contrary,  to  act  what  the  major  part  of  the  company 
had  a  mind  to ;  sometimes  <  Tamerlane/  sometimes 
1  Jugurth/  sometimes  the  'Jew  of  Malta/  and  some 
times  parts  of  all  these ;  and  at  last,  none  of  the  three 
taking,  they  were  forced  to  undress  and  put  off  their 
tragic  habits,  and  conclude  the  day  with  the  <  Merry 
Milkmaids/" 

A  very  commendable  instance  of  the  audience  cen 
suring  improprieties  of  an  author,  and  the  author  ac 
quiescing  and  altering  them,  is  to  be  seen  in  a  note  to 
the  prologue  to  "  Sir  John  Cockle  at  Court/'  by  Dod- 
sley.  In  the  prologue  are  these  two  lines : 

"  Small  faults  we  hope  with  candor  you'll  excuse, 
Nor  harshly  treat  a  self-convicted  muse." 

These  two  lines  were  added  after  the  first  night's  per- 

*  The  use  of  tobacco  and  snuff  was  oftentimes  very  offensive  to 
the  actor,  the  consumption  of  which  on  the  stage  is  mentioned  by  in 
numerable  authorities ;  but  it  should  seem  from  a  line  in  the  epi- 
gams  of  Sir  John  Davies  and  Christopher  Madon,  printed  1598,  that 
at  that  period  it  was  a  service  of  some  danger,  and  generally  ob 
jected  ; 

"  He  dares  to  take  tobacco  on  the  stage." 

In  1638,  women  smoked  tobacco  in  the  theatre  as  well  as  men. 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FOEEEST.  247 

formance,  and  tlie  author  thanked  "  the  town  "  for  so 
judiciously  correcting  the  abuses.  Collier,  p.  271, 
says :  "  The  duties  incumbent  upon  the  frequenters  of 
theatres  are,  undoubtedly,  great,  since  they  are,  in 
part,  the  patrons  and  support  of  the  theatre,  and  are 
in  a  great  measure  those  who  give  the  law  to  its  pro 
fessors,  by  the  applause  and  censure  and  attendance 
which  they  give  to  particular  exhibitions  and  perform 
ers.  If  the  amusement  be  vicious,  the  company  are  all 
accessory  to  the  mischief  of  the  place ;  for;  were  there 
no  audience,  we  should  have  no  action." 

An  audience  constitutes  itself  the  judge  in  deciding 
upon  the  question  of  the  right  to  "hiss  in  a  theatre," 
from  the  fact  that  we  have  no  censorship  over  plays,  or 
laws  prohibiting  indecent  exhibitions,  or  if  we  have 
they  are  not  enforced.  An  actor  who  comes  on  the 
stage  in  a  state  of  intoxication  insults  the  audience; 
the  manager  in  permitting  it,  alike  insults  it.  There 
is  but  one  way  to  resent  this  insult,  and  that  is  to  hiss 
him  off  the  stage.  Or,  if  an  actor  so  far  forgets  him 
self  as  to  use  vulgar  or  indecent  language,  he  subjects 
himself  to  this  mode  of  expressing  the  disapprobation 
of  the  persons  present.  Again,  if  a  manager  should 
engage  a  police  officer  to  remove  the  individual  who  so 
expresses  his  objections  to  indecency,  he  sustains  the 
actor  in  his  vulgarity,  or  the  drunkard  in  his  beas- 
tiality. 


CHAPTEK   XXI. 

RICHARD  III. COLLET  GIBBER'S  VERSION. FIRST  RICH 
ARD   IN  AMERICA.  ACTORS  CELEBRATED  IN  THE 

PART. — FORREST'S  RICHARD,  NOT  SHAKESPEARE'S. — 

HE   ADHERES    TO    HISTORY. QUESTION    OF    DRESS. 

IN  our  last  chapter  we  left  Mr.  Forrest  in  England. 
As  we  shall  not  bring  him  on  the  stage  again  until 
the  year  1849,  we  will  fill  up  the  interval  with  personal 
and  dramatic  matters  which  we  think  will  be  equally 
interesting  to  our  readers.  In  this  part  we  will 
speak  of 

MR.  FORREST'S  RICHARD  m., 

which  met  with  but  little  favor  from  the  press.  Some 
account  of  this  great  and  popular  tragedy  in  connection 
with  Mr.  Forrest's  rendition  of  the  character,  may  not 
be  considered  out  of  place  in  these  Reminiscences. 

In  the  commencement  of  this  drama,  which,  in  the 
original  title,  is  stated  to  be  "  The  Life  and  Death  of 
Eichard  III.,"  the  historical  action  is  somewhat  con 
fused,  since  it  opens  with  George,  Duke  of  Clarence, 
being  committed  to  the  tower,  in  the  beginning  of 
1478 ;  whilst  the  second  scene  brings  in  the  funeral  of 
Henry  VI.,  who  is  commonly  reported  to  have  been 
murdered,  May  23rd,  1471.  It  closes  with  the  death  of 
Eichard,  in  the  battle  of  Bosworth  Field,  August  22nd, 
1485  j  and  thus  it  may  be  said  to  comprise  the  space  of 

(248) 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORKEST.  249 

fourteen  years.  The  scene  is  laid  in  London  and  va 
rious  parts  of  England. 

There  seems  to  have  been  several  dramas  and  other 
pieces  written  upon  this  point  of  history  before  Shake 
speare  produced  his  tragedy,  but  he  does  not  appear  to 
have  used  any  of  them.  Mr.  Boswell  supposed,  how 
ever,  that  an  "Interlude  of  Richard  III.,  with  the  death 
of  Edward  IV.,  the  smothering  of  the  two  princes,  the 
end  of  Shore's  wife,  and  the  contention  of  the  Houses 
of  Lancaster  and  York,"  published  in  1594,  had  so 
great  a  resemblance  to  this  play,  that  the  author  must 
have  seen  it  before  he  composed  his  own.  It  is,  not 
withstanding,  one  of  the  worst  of  the  ancient  Inter 
ludes,  and  has  but  few  traces  of  likeness. 

Richard  III.  was  probably  written  in  1593  or  1594 ; 
it  appears  entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  October  20th, 
1597.  In  1700,  Colley  Gibber's  alteration  of  this  trag 
edy  was  produced  at  Drury  Lane,  from  which  the 
licenser  obliterated  the  whole  of  the  first  act,  observing 
that  the  distresses  and  murder  of  Henry  VI.  would  too 
much  remind  weak  persons  of  James  II.,  then  in  exile 
at  St.  Germains.  It  was  thus  performed  for  several 
years,  and  was  always  very  popular  and  successful, 
which  Stevens  attributes  partly  to  Gibber's  revision. 
The  modern  adaptation  of  Richard  was  made  by  John 
P.  Kemble  from  both  Shakespeare  and  Gibber,  and  was 
published  by  him  as  acted  at  Covent  Garden  in  1810. 
This  version  is  remarkably  feeble ;  and  when  Garrick 
produced  Colley  Gibber's  version  at  Goodman's  Fields, 
his  utterance  of  the  line — "  Off  Avith  his  head  ;  so  much 
for  Buckingham,"  drew  down  thunders  of  applause,  and 
these  words  first  set  the  seal  on  Garrick's  popularity, 
and  of  course  sustained  Gibber's  version.  The  intro- 


250  LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

duction  of  cannon  and  fire-arms  startled  old  stagers, 
and  unwise  critics  shouted  out  "anachronism!"  Not 
so.  The  battle  of  Bosworth  Field  was  fought  on  the 
22nd  of  August,  1485.  Great  guns  were  invented  in 
1330 :  used  by  the  Moors  at  the  siege  of  Algeciras,  in 
Spain,  in  1344;  used  at  the  battle  of  Cressy,  in  1346, 
when  Edward  had  four  pieces  of  cannon,  which  gained 
him  the  battle.  They  were  used  at  the  siege  of  Calais, 
in  1347 ;  in  Denmark,  1354 ;  at  sea,  by  Venice  against 
Genoa,  1377.  First  used  in  England,  at  the  siege  of 
Berwick,  1405 ;  first  used  in  Spain,  1406. 

Colley  Gibber's  version  has  been  criticised  and  con 
demned  ever  since  its  introduction  on  the  stage.  It  was 
considered  by  Shakesperian  scholars  as  a  desecration, 
and  yet  it  has  maintained  a  place  upon  the  stage  ever 
since.  Shakespeare's  Kichard,  as  written,  would  not 
be  acknowledged  now  by  play-goers.  Garrick,  Mossop, 
Kemble,  Cooke,  Cooper,  Kean,  and  Forrest  have  played 
Garrick's  version,  and  this  fact  gives  its  authority.  A 
writer  says:  "Great  as  these  names  are,  that  of  Shake 
speare  is  surely  well  worth  a  myriad  of  them."  And 
yet,  with  all  these  criticisms  and  reflections  on  the 
Richard  of  Gibber,  actors  all  agree  that  if  he  had  only 
added  to  the  original  the  two  lines  which  at  all  times 
elicit  applause,  he  would  have  merited  a  higher  compli 
ment  than  he  has  for  a  general  revision  of  it.  The 
lines  are  these : 

"  Off  with  his  head  ;  so  much  for  Buckingham ; " 

and 

"  Richard  is  himself  again." 

That  our  readers  may  appreciate  Gibber's  altera 
tions  and  additions,  we  add  the  following : 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  251 

"  The  aspiring  youth  that  fired  the  Ephesian  dome, 
Outlives  in  fame  the  pious  fool  that  raised  it." 

ACT  III.  SCENE  1. 

" Hark,  from  the  tents, 

The  armorers  accomplishing1  the  knights, 
With  clink  of  hammers  closing  rivets  up, 
Give  dreadful  note  of  preparation. 

"  I've  lately  had  two  spiders 
Crawling  upon  my  startled  hopes — 
Now,  tho'  thy  friendly  hand  has  brushed  'em  from  me, 
Yet  still  they  crawl  offensive  to  my  eyes; 
I  would  have  some  kind  friend  to  tread  upon  'em." 

ACT  IV.  SCENE  3.* 

THOMAS    KEAN THE    FIRST    RICHARD  III.     IN    AMERICA. 

This  gentleman  was  a  man  of  talent.  Little,  how 
ever,  is  known  of  his  history.  He  arrived  in  Philadel 
phia  from  the  West  Indies,  in  1747-8,  and  played  with 
the  "American  Amateur  Company"  in  1748-9,  in  a 
temporary  building  in  what  was  known  as  "Little  Dock 
Street."  In  connection  with  a  Mr.  Murray,  he  made 
arrangements  to  open  a  theatre  in  New  York.  There 
was  no  theatre  at  that  time  in  that  city.  Their  arrival 
was  thus  announced  in  the  "  Gazette  "  of  February, 
20th,  1749 : 

"  Last  week  arrived  here  a  company  of  comedians  from 
Philadelphia,  who,  we  hear,  have  taken  a  convenient  room 
for  their  purpose  in  one  of  the  buildings  lately  belonging 
to  the  Hon.  Kip  Van  Dam,  deceased,  in  Nassau  Street, 
where  they  intend  to  perform  as  long  as  the  season  lasts, 
provided  they  meet  with  suitable  encouragement." 

The  announcement  of  the  managers  was  as  follows : 

*  William  Hazlett,  however,  seems  to  have  had  a  very  different 
opinion  of  Colley  Gibber's  version,  for,  speaking  of  it,  he  says  :  "  The 
manner  in  which  Shakespeare's  plays  have  been  generally  altered,  or 
rather  mangled  by  modern  mechanists,  is  a  disgrace  to  the  English 
stage.  The  patchwork  '  Richard  III.'  which  is  acted  under  the  sanc 
tion  of  his  name,  and  which  was  manufactured  by  Gibber,  is  a  strik 
ing  example  of  this  remark." 


252  LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

By  his  Excellency's  permission,  at  the  theatre,  in  Nassau  Street. 

On  MONDAY,  the  5th  day  of  March  (1750), 
will  be  presented  the  Historical  Play  of 

KING  EICHARD  HI., 

wrote   originally  by  Shakespeare,  and  altered  by  Colley  Gibber,  Esq. 
Pit,  5  shillings.     Gallery,  3  shillings. 

This  was  the  first  representation  of  Kichard  III.  on 
record  in  the  Colonies.  Thomas  Kean  was  the  Rich 
ard.  As  this  was  the  first  acknowledged  theatrical 
company  in  the  country,  we  give  the  names  of  its  mem 
bers  as  far  as  they  could  be  found  in  the  play-bills  of 
the  day:  Kean,  Tremaine,  Murray,  Woodham,  lago, 
Scott,  Leigh,  Smith,  Moore,  Marks,  Master  Murray, 
Miss  Osborne,  Miss  Nancy  George,  Mrs.  Taylor,  Mrs. 
Osborne,  Mrs.  Leigh,  and  Mrs.  Davis. 

The  most  celebrated  Richard's  in  this  country  since 
Hallam's  advent,  were  Cooper,  Booth,  Fennell,  Cooke, 
Kean  and  Edwin  Forrest.  All  these  great  actors,  ex 
cept  Mr.  Forrest,  adhered  to  traditionary  authority  for 
portraying  the  character;  the  latter  gave  us  a  version 
of  his  own.  He  represented  the  crook-backed  tyrant 
somewhat  different  from  the  general  idea  we  have  of 
his  personal  appearance,  but  he  gave  us  Richard  as  he 
contended  was  the  proper  view  of  the  character,  as  tow 
ering  and  lofty,  equally  impetuous  and  commanding ; 
haughty,  violent  and  subtle ;  bold  and  treacherous ; 
confident  in  his  strength  as  well  as  in  his  cunning ; 
raised  by  high  birth  and  higher  by  his  genius  and  his 
crimes ;  a  royal  usurper,  a  princely  hypocrite — a  tyrant 
and  a  murderer  of  the  house  of  Plantagenet.  Is  an 
actor  not  justified  in  fashioning  his  appearance  to  suit 
the  character  ?  Although  deformed,  would  not  this 
restless  and  sanguinary  Richard,  conscious  of  his 
strength  of  will — his  power  of  intellect — his  daring 
courage — his  elevated  station — lessen  that  deformity 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  253 

by  the  same  arts  he  uses  to  disguise  his  murderous 
purposes  ?  Mr.  Forrest's  Richard  was  a  great  concep 
tion,  and  powerful  in  delineation ;  he  seemed  the  first 
tempter  approaching  his  prey,  clothed  with  all  the  at 
tributes  of  the  basilisk  to  charm  and  allure.  Shake 
speare  has  been  accused  of  exaggerating  the  personal 
appearance  of  Richard,  as  well  as  that  of  his  character. 
It  will  be  observed,  however,  that  the  only  one  who 
descants  upon  his  personal  defects  is  Richard  himself; 
hence  the  actor  may  infer  that  he  distorts  his  person 
by  viewing  it  through  a  mental  glass,  thus  magnifying 
each  and  every  defect. 

Richard  III.  and  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  were 
both  remarkable  for  their  love  of  finery.  This  love  of 
dress  on  the  part  of  Richard  did  not  develop  itself 
until  the  effect  of  his  extraordinary  scene  with  Lady 
Anne  became  apparent ;  it  was  then  he  exclaimed : 

"  My  dukedom  to  a  beggarly  denier, 
I  do  mistake  my  person  all  this  while  ; 
Upon  my  life,  sJie  finds,  although  I  cannot, 
Myself  to  be  a  marvellous  proper  man ; 
I'll  be  at  charges  for  a  looking-glass, 
And  entertain  a  score  or  two  of  tailors, 
To  study  fashion  to  adorn  my  body ; 
Since  I  am  crept  in  favor  with  myself, 
I  will  maintain  it  with  some  little  cost,"  etc. 

Why  may  we  not  infer  that  when  Richard  speaks  of 
himself  as  being  deformed  and  unfinished,  and  that  the 
dogs  barked  at  him  as  he  passed  along  the  streets,  he  it 
is,  and  not  Shakespeare,  who  magnifies  his  deformities  ? 
He  mentally  conjures  up  these  defects,  and  contrasting 
his  person  with  those  who  compose  his  brother's  court, 
falls  into  a  state  of  inquietude,  and  rails  at  nature  for 
sending  him  into — "  this  breathing  world  scarce  half 
made  up."  Such,  it  is  true,  Shakespeare  fashions  his 


254  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

mind,  and  puts  words  into  his  mouth  equally  express 
ive  ;  but  does  not  the  interview  with  Lady  Anne 
change  this  "fashion"  of  his  mind  and  induce  him  to 
engage  a  score  or  two  of  tailors  to  "  study  fashions  to 
adorn  "  his  body  ? 

Mr.  Forrest  took  this  view  of  Richard,  and  con 
veyed  the  idea  of  his  deformity  more  by  words  than  the 
presentation  of  an  actual  picture.  If  the  other  char 
acters  in  the  tragedy  looked  upon  Richard  as  one  at 
whom  the  very  dogs  barked,  or  that  Shakespeare  in 
tended  him  to  represent,  stronger  allusions  would  have 
been  made  to  his  personal  appearance  throughout  the 
play.  [See  Sir  Thomas  Moore's  "  Relation  of  Richard/' 
and  also  "  Fuller's  Church  History/'] 

Mr.  Forrest's  portrait  of  Richard  was  taken  from  a 
copy  of  the  original,  as  lithographed  for  the  fifth 
volume  of  the  "  Parton  Letters  " — this  being  historical, 
and  taken  in  connection  with  the  flattering  description 
of  the  old  Countess  of  Desmond,  who  had  danced  with 
him  when  he  was  Duke  of  Gloster,  and  is  stated  to 
have  declared  that  he  was  the  handsomest  man  in  the 
room  except  his  brother,  King  Edward  VI. 

We  called  Mr.  Forrest's  attention  to  the  portrait  of 
Richard,  as  drawn  by  Shakespeare,  and  it  was  from 
this  he  should  fashion  his  person;  indeed,  the  very 
language  required  it.  "  Your  Richard,"  we  observed, 
"will  never  be  popular  if  you  insist  upon  represent 
ing  him  in  the  light  the  Countess  of  Desmond  places 
him." 

"But  her  description,  and  that  of  Sir  Thomas 
Moore,  are  historical." 

"  True ;  but  it  is  not  Shakespeare.  Kean  made 
him  a  c  painted  devil.'  The  usurper  considered  his  de- 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FOKREST.  255 

formity  as  a  neglect  of  nature,  and  supposes  himself 
justified  in  taking  revenge  on  the  human  society  from 
which  he  is  excluded  by  his  '  mis-shapen  trunk/  The 
difference  between  Kean  and  yourself  is,  that  while  he 
makes  him 

"  '  Deformed,  unfinished,  Bent  before  my  time 
Into  this  breathing1  world,  scarce  half  made  up, 
And  that  so  lamely  and  unfashionable, 
That  dogs  bark  at  me  as  I  halt  by  them,' 

yon  make  up  a  very  proper  man." 

"  True ;  yet,  if  tradition  had  not  thrown  around 
the  character  these  objectionable  features,  would  not 
my  version  be  more  acceptable  to  the  audience  ?  " 

"  No,  for  tradition  has  given  to  the  stage  a  Richard; 
you  must  trace  it  back  to  Shakespeare,  even  to  the  first 
representative  under  the  eye  of  the  immortal  author 
himself.  You  cannot  depart  from  this.  Had  Kean, 
Booth,  and  Cooper  changed  this  traditionary  picture, 
we  question  if  Richard  III.  would  be  as  popular  as  it 
is  now.  It  is  the  character  that  renders  it  great;  take 
that  away,  and  what  is  left  ?  " 

"  This,  I  admit,  is  a  strong  argument,  but  still  I 
cannot  so  distort  Richard." 

"  Then,  let  me  advise  you  to  present  him  in  the 
two  pictures,  one  historical,  the  other  Shakespeare." 

"How  so?" 

"  You  make  him  history  from  the  first  to  the  last. 
Why  not  make  him  Shakespeare  up  to  the  wooing  of 
Lady  Anne  ?  He  is  here  in  all  his  deformity,  for  she 
says : 

"  '  Blush,  blush,  thou  lump  of  foul  deformity/ 

These  words  will  not  apply  to  your  Richard,  but  to 
that  of  Shakespeare's.  Still,  the  lady  listens  to  his 


256  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

vows,  and  is  won  by  a  tongue  that  can  wheedle  the 
devil." 

"Well,  what  then?" 

"Why,  after  this,  follow  history.  Carry  out  the 
words  of  Kichard ;  change  your  dress,  and  appear  '  a 
very  proper  man,  as  fashioned  by  a  score  of  tailors/  " 

Forrest  laughed  outright,  and  admitted  the  philos 
ophy,  if  he  did  not  the  correctness  of  our  criticism. 

Apart  from  Mr.  Forrest's  conception  of  the  char 
acter  of  Kichard,  it  was  a  masterly  performance,  and  if 
he  could  have  impressed  his  audience  with  the  same 
idea  he  had  of  it,  we  should  have  had  an  American 
actor  to  claim  the  honor  of  being  the  best  that  ever 
trod  the  stage.  As  it  is,  the  Kichard  of  Kean,  and  of 
Booth,  overshadows  that  of  Edwin  Forrest's. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

MACBETH. — NEW  HEADINGS. — CRITICISMS.  —  DIVERSITY 

OF  OPINION   ABOUT   CERTAIN  PASSAGES. ENGLISH 

NOTICE  OF  FORREST'S  MACBETH. — FORREST  ELATED. 

WRITES  AN  INJUDICIOUS  LETTER  HOME. YOUTH 

AN  EXCUSE. 

TI)ROPRIETY  of  fiction,  solemnity,  grandeur,  and 
variety  of  action,  are  the  chief  features  of  this 
sublime  tragedy,  which  has  been  pronounced  in  the 
Theatre,  "  the  highest  of  all  dramatic  enjoyments."  As 
it  formed  an  important  feature  in  Mr.  Forrest's  reper- 
torie  of  plays,  and,  indeed,  in  that  of  all  other  great 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  257 

actors,  a  few  historic  facts  connected  with,  it  may  not 
be  out  of  place  in  these  Keminiscences. 

MACBETH. 

The  progress  of  the  action  of  this  play  is  fearfully 
rapid,  and  seems  to  include  but  a  few  days ;  though  its 
precise  historical  duration  cannot  be  ascertained.  Boe- 
thus  and  Buchanan  state  that  Duncan  was  murdered 
by  his  cousin-german,  Macbeth,  about  A.  D.  1040  or 
1045 ;  and  that  the  latter  was  slain  by  Macbeth  in 
A.  D.  1057  or  1061. 

The  original  narrative  of  these  events  is  contained 
in  the  Scotorium  Historian,  of  Hector  Boethus ;  whence 
it  was  translated  into  Scotch  by  John  Bellenden,  and 
afterwards  into  English  by  Eaphael  Hollinshed,  from 
whose  chronicle  Shakespeare  closely  copied.  Malone 
placed  the  composition  of  the  drama  in  1606 ;  and  it 
has  been  regarded  as  the  medium  of  dexterous  and 
graceful  flattery  to  James  I.,  who  was  the  issue  of  Ban- 
quo,  and  first  united  the  three  kingdoms  of  Britain;  at 
the  same  time  that  the  play  adopted  his  well  known 
notions  on  the  subject  of  Demonology.  Shakespeare 
derived  much  of  his  incantations  from  a  manuscript 
tragic  comedy,  without  date,  by  Thomas  Middleton, 
called  The  Witch.  We  give  the  following  extracts 
from  The  WTitch  ;  and  it  will  appear  very  evident  that 
Shakespeare  had  read  the  piece,  and  made  considerable 
use  of  it. 

Hecate. — (Ascending  with  the  spirit.} 
"  Now  I  go,  now  I  fly, 
Malkin  my  sweet  spirit  and  I. 
Oh  !  what  a  dainty  pleasure  'tis 
To  ride  in  the  air, 
Where  the  moon  shines  fair,"  etc. 
*  *  *  * 

16 


258  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

A  charm  song — (The  witches  going  about  the  caul 
dron.) 

"  Black  spirits  and  white,  red  spirits  and  gray : 
Mingle,  mingle,  mingle ;  you  that  mingle  may." 
***** 

1st  Witch.—"  Here's  the  blood  of  a  bat ; 

Hecate. — Put  in  that ;  oh !  put  in  that. 

2d  Witch.— Here's  a  libbard's  bane ; 

Hecate. — Put  in  again. 

1*£  Witch. — The  juice  of  toad ;  the  oil  of  adder ; 

2d  Witch. — Those  will  make  the  yonker  madder,"  etc. 

In  1674,  William  Davenant  altered  the  tragedy  of 
Macbeth,  introduced  songs  and  the  celebrated  music  of 
Matthew  Locke.  It  was  brought  out  in  great  splendor 
at  the  Duke's,  Dorset  Garden. 

The  modern  revival  was  produced  at  Drury  Lane  in 
1789,  by  John  P.  Kemble,  and  published  in  1803,  as 
performed  at  Co  vent  Garden.  The  part  of  Macbeth 
was  one  of  this  great  actor's  most  admirable  efforts,  as 
it  had  also  been  of  Garrick's.  Mrs.  Siddons  played  the 
character  of  Lady  Macbeth  on  the  2nd  of  February, 
1785 ;  previous  to  which  Mrs.  Pritchard  was  consid 
ered  by  far  the  most  perfect  Lady  Macbeth  of  the  age. 

Macbeth  was  first  performed  in  this  country  by 
Hallam's  company,  March  3rd,  1768;  Macbeth,  Mr. 
Hallam,  Lady  Macbeth,  Mrs.  Douglass. 

Mr.  Thomas  A.  Cooper,  George  Frederick  Cooke, 
Edmund  Kean,  Lucius  Junius  Booth  and  E.  L.  Daven 
port,  have  distinguished  themselves  in  the  character  of 
Macbeth.  But  public  opinion,  both  in  Europe  and 
America  has,  we  believe,  decided  that  Mr.  Edwin  For 
rest's  Macbeth  is  on  the  stage  record  given  as  only 
equalled  by  that  of  Garrick's.  Mr.  Macready's  style  of 
acting,  although  termed  classical,  was  too  cold  and  me 
chanical  for  the  American  people,  and  his  delineations, 


- 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORKEST.  259 

or  rather  portraitures  of  the  heroes  of  Shakespeare's 
plays,  were  deficient  in  the  skill  and  management  of 
the  chiaro-scuro.  His  pictures  generally  were  ungrace 
ful — not  from  any  deficiency  on  his  part — but  a  habit 
he  had  of  attudinizing  on  mechanical  rather  than  nat 
ural  principles. 

Cooper,  Fennel,  and  Edwin  Forrest,  relied  more  for 
effect  on  their  assuming  the  character  than  in  the  en 
deavor  to  fashion  the  character  to  suit  themselves. 
Thus,  in  their  impersonations  of  Koman  characters, 
they  stood  before  us  the  panoplied  spirits  of  the  mighty 
dead. 

"  Name  to  me  yon  Archen  chief  for  bulk 
Conspicuous  and  for  port.     Taller  indeed 
I  may  perceive  than  he,  but  with  these  eyes 
Saw  never  yet  such  dignity  and  grace." 

Macbeth  is  one  of  the  noblest  creations  of  Shake 
speare,  and  yet  it  was  not  one  of  Mr.  Forrest's  parts. 
It  was  at  our  suggestion  he  played  it  on  one  or  more 
occasions,  giving  a  reason  for  leaving  it  out  of  his  role 
that  he  could  not  find  a  Lady  Macbeth  to  aid  him  in 
rendering  it  in  an  effective  manner.  "  You  may  re 
member/'  said  he,  one  day,  "an  article  you  wrote  on 
the  character  of  Macbeth,  wherein  you  suggested  a  new 
business.  I  called  the  attention  of  Miss  Wemyss 
(Mrs.  Duffield)  to  the  point,  and  stated  that  I  en 
deavored  on  several  occasions  to  have  the  passage 
given  as  you  suggested."  We  annex  the  following 
extract  from  the  article  to  which  Mr.  Forrest  referred : 

"The  character  of  Lady  Macbeth  has  been  the  theme 
of  many  able  criticisms.  Mrs.  Siddons  has  clearly  analyzed 
it,  and  Mrs.  Jamieson  in  her  characteristics  of  Shake 
speare's  female  characters,  most  learnedly  discusses  the 
various  questions  relative  to  the  sinfulness  and  crimes  of 


260  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKREST. 

this  vile  specimen  of  the  most  vicious  of  her  sex.  Lady 
Macbeth  is  not  merely  a  fiend — one  whose  soul  has  lost  its 
divine  attribute,  and  whose  purposes  are  murderous  and 
bloody — but  she  is  a  woman  of  powerful  intellect,  and 
hence  the  influence  she  exercises  over  her  husband.  A 
writer  speaking  of  her  says:  'She  overpowers  Macbeth's 
mind  and  beats  down  his  doubts  and  fears — not  by  su 
perior  talent,  but  by  violence  of  will,  by  intensity  of 
purpose.  She  does  not  even  hear  the  whispers  of  con 
science.  They  are  drowned  in  the  whirlwind  of  her  own 
thoughts.  She  has  intellectually  the  terrible  beauty  of 
the  Medusa  of  classic  art.' 

"  Holinshead,  speaking  of  Lady  Macbeth,  describes  her 
*  As  burning  with  unquenchable  desire  to  be  a  Queen.' 

"Schlegel,  the  accomplished  German  lecturer  on  the 
plays  of  Shakespeare,  says :  *  The  wife  of  Macbeth  con 
jured  him  not  to  let  the  opportunity  slip  of  murdering 
the  King.  She  urges  him  on  with  fiery  eloquence,  which 
has  all  the  sophisms  at  command  that  serve  to  throw  a 
false  grandeur  over  crime. 

*  *****  *  * 

"  Macbeth  following  immediately  the  receipt  of  the 
letter  he  had  written  to  his  wife  announcing  his  arrival, 
is  received  by  her  with  these  words : 

" « Great  G-lamis !  worthy  Cawdor ! 

Greater  than  both  by  the  all  hail  hereafter.' 

"To  which  Macbeth  answers: 

" '  My  dearest  love,  Duncan  comes  here  to-night.' 

"  How  does  Lady  Macbeth  receive  this  intelligence 
from  her  lord?  In  the  same  tone,  but  with  a  decided 
marked  emphasis,  with  the  eyes  fixed  on  those  of  her  hus 
band,  as  if  to  read  his  inmost  soul,  she  exclaims  : 

"  'And  when  goes  hence?' 

"  Macbeth  sees  not  the  deep  hellish  glance — feels  not 
the  presence  of  a  demon — 'top  full  of  direst  cruelty' — 
the  dream  of  murder,  the  vision  raised  by  the  Weird 
Sisters — all  have  passed  from  his  mind,  and  he  naturally 
replies,  *  to-morrow.'  At  that  moment  he  meets  the  eye 
of  his  wife — like  an  electric  shock,  the  infernal  spark  acts 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOEEEST.  2G1 

npon  his  already  overcharged  brain — he  starts,  gazes  as 
if  upon  the  fabled  basilisk,  and  mutters  in  fear  and  dread, 
as  if  in  presence  of  a  supernatural  being, 

" '  As  he  purposes.' 

"  Here  it  is  they  fully  understand  each  other;  thoughts 
and  feelings  are  read  and  exchanged — he  looks  through 
the  windows  of  her  mind  into  her  very  soul,  and  the  dim 
chambers  of  his  brain,  the  charnel  house  of  bad  thoughts 
are  lit  up  with  hellish  fires ;  he  gazes  upon  his  evil  genius 
— she  speaks: 

" '  0,  never 
Shall  sun  that  morrow  see ! ' 

"The  author  here,  who  never  loses  sight  of  nature 
and  truth,  fully  explains  why  Lady  Macbeth  gives  her  free 
thoughts  speech — 

" '  Your  face,  my  Thane,  is  a  book,  where  men 
May  read  strange  matters.     To  beguile  the  time, 
Look  like  the  time — bear  welcome  in  your  eye, 
Your  hand,  your  tongue ;  look  like  the  innocent  flower, 
But  be  a  serpent  under  it.     He  that  is  coming 
Must  be  provided  for — and  you  shall  put 
This  night's  great  business  into  my  despatch,'  etc. 

"Lady  Macbeth  here  takes  the  business  at  once  in 
hand,  for  why  ?  because  his  nature 

" '  Is  too  full  of  the  milk  of  human  kindness, 
To  catch  the  nearest  way.' " 

Mr.  Forrest's  Macbeth  was  a  most  finished  per 
formance —  it  was  grand  in  conception,  and  Shake- 
sperian  throughout.  It  is  true,  much  of  the  real  action 
of  the  play  falls  upon  the  actress,  and  the  audience  in 
many  scenes  entirely  loses  sight  of  Macbeth,  in  the 
interest  they  take  in  the  bloody  queen.  The  moment 
an  actor  finds  the  leading  actress  of  a  company  to  be 
considered  a  great  Lady  Macbeth,  that  moment  he 
leaves  Macbeth  out  from  his  role.  We  do  not  say 
Mr.  Forrest  displayed  any  such  selfishness;  on  the 
contrary,  he  gave  as  a  reason  that  generally  the  Lady 


262  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

Macbe th's  were  very  inferior.  He,  however,  spoke 
highly  of  Mrs.  J.  W.  Wallack  and  Mrs.  Duffield  in 
connection  with  the  character. 

Mr.  Forrest's  Macbeth  was  also  a  great  part  before 
he  left  for  England  ;  and  although  his  conception  of 
the  character  did  not  assimilate  with  our  own,  yet  it 
made,  as  it  did  everywhere,  a  most  powerful  im 
pression.  We  annex  another  extract  from  a  London 
paper : 

"  Mr.  Forrest's  Macbeth  was  a  masterly  portraiture  of 
the  irresolute,  ambitious  and  guilty  Thane;  too  elaborate, 
perhaps,  and  overworked  for  some  who  take  the  simplicity 
of  nature  for  their  standard  of  excellence ;  yet  distin 
guished  by  those  exquisite  touches  which  mediocrity  can 
never  reach,  and  which  it  is  the  province  of  genius  only  to 
impart.  In  many  instances,  Mr.  Forrest  differed  from  the 
accustomed  reading  with  judicious  effect,  in  others  he  was 
not  so  happy.  The  delivery  of  his  share  of  the  dialogue 
in  a  whisper,  after  the  murder  was  committed,  produced  a 
marked  effect  upon  the  auditory,  and  was  a  bold  and 
original  thought,  and  skilfully  carried  into  execution." 

Mr.  Forrest  threw  around  his  impersonation  of  this 
character,  an  air  of  wild,  startling  romance,  which  we 
consider  as  perfectly  just,  for  the  whole  play  of  Mac 
beth,  with  its  witches,  its  ghosts,  and  its  music,  is  a 
melo-dramatic  play,  and  as  such  was  rendered  by  Mr. 
Forrest. 

It  may  be  noticed  that  Mr.  Forrest,  like  Macready, 
did  not,  in  the  commencement  of  a  play,  draw  largely 
upon  his  powers,  great  as  they  were.  In  Othello,  Da 
mon  and  Virginius,  it  was  his  habit  to  commence  with  a 
low  voice  and  with  a  minimum  of  action.  He  allowed 
the  passion  of  the  piece  to  lead  him  on,  circumstance 
by  circumstance,  until  he  reached,  what,  like  Milton,  he 
might  call 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  263 

"  The  height  of  his  great  argument." 

If,  in  Lear  there  is  a  more  immediate  development 
of  power,  it  is  because  Shakespeare's  creation  rendered 
it  necessary  in  that  case.  In  the  character  of  Mac 
beth,  we  have  an  especial  example  of  the  actor's  keep 
ing  himself  up  for  the  greater  scenes ;  every  moment  in 
the  play  adds  to  the  causes  of  his  excitement,  and 
draws  out  the  passion  in  greater  dignity  and  grandeur. 
When  Macbeth  first  meets  the  witches  the  thought  of 
evil  has  not  crossed  his  mind — ambition  has  not 
entered  it — and  crime  has  been  undreamed  of.  But 
their  prophecies  startle  him — and  while  his  mind  is 
thus  in  the  commencement  of  its  feverish  anticipa 
tions,  there  comes  the  fulfilment  of  one  prophecy,  for 
Kosse  hails  him  Thane  of  Cawdor — an  accession  of 
dignity  which  the  weird  sisters  had  just  forwarned 
him  of.  Then  commences  the  swell  of  ambition,  and 
step  by  step  it  is  consummated ;  as  the  river,  small  at 
its  source,  is  swelling  to  a  mighty  flood,  by  the  acces 
sion  of  auxiliary  streams,  until  it  reach  the  mighty 
ocean. 

We  have  always  objected  to  Mr.  Forrest's  reading 
this  passage  thus : 

"  If  it  were  done,  when  'tis  done,  then  'twere  well 
It  were  done  quickly,  if  the  assassination 
Could  trammel  up  the  consequence,  and  catch, 
With  his  surcease  success." 

The  old  reading  merely  implies  that  if  the  deed  is 
to  be  committed,  the  sooner  the  better.  Mr.  Forrest 
brought  out  a  new  and  fuller  meaning ;  that  the  deed 
(as  elevating  him  to  empire)  would  be  well  if  it  were 
done ;  and  that  if  the  murder  could  ensure  success  to 
his  aims,  it  should  be  quickly  done.  The  doubt  is, 


264  LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

not  so  much  whether  Duncan  should  be  removed,  as 
whether  his  removal  would  effect  Macbeth' s  purpose  of 
usurpation,  Duncan's  son  being  yet  alive. 

In  our  humble  opinion  the  passage  should  be  read 
thus: 

"  If  it  were  done,  when  't  is  done,  then  't  were  well 
It  were  done  quickly.     If  the  assassination 
Could  trammel  up  the  consequence,  and  catch, 
With  his  surcease,  success ;  that  but  this  blow 
Might  be  the  be-all  and  the  end-all  here, 
BUT  here  upon  this  bank  and  shoal  of  time — 
We'd  jump  the  life  TO  COME." 

The  meaning  in  other  phrase  is  this.  ;T  were  well 
it  were  done  quickly,  if,  when  't  is  done,  it  were  done, 
or  at  an  end.  If  the  assassination  at  the  same  moment 
that  it  ends  Duncan's  life,  would  ensure  success  —  if 
the  crown  could  be  enjoyed,  Macbeth  would  stand  the 
chance  of  what  might  happen  in  the  future  state. 

As  this  oft-mooted  question  possesses  some  degree 
of  interest,  from  the  fact  that  Mr.  Forrest  invariably 
read  it  as  quoted  above,  it  may  be  well  to  state  here 
that  he  had  high  authority  for  its  use.  Writers,  at 
least,  dramatic  ones,  agree  that  there  is  what  may  be 
called  "  embarrassment  in  the  language/'  Yet  will  it 
be  found  admirably  suited  to  the  character  of  Macbeth. 
Still  ambiguity  is  not  exactly  a  fault  of  Shakespeare. 

"  It  were  done  quickly  (on  the  instant) ;  if  the  assassination- 
Could  trammel  up  the  consequence,"  etc. 

sounds  well ;  but  does  it  not  sound  equally  so  to  read 
it  thus : 

"  if  the  assassination 

Could  trammel  up  the  consequence,  and  catch 
With  his  surcease  success ;  that  but  this  blow,"  etc. 

The  dispute  is  simply  on  the  application  of  terms. 
Macbeth  begins  the  soliloquy  in  a  measured  tone  :  "If 


LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FORREST.  205 

it  were  done" — /.  e.,  if  the  act  of  the  murder  were 
performed,  even  when  Duncan  was  asleep,  and  was  the 
final  issue  of  the  business — 

"  then  't  were  well 

It  were  done  quickly." 

He  then  commenced,  taking  a  new  view  of  the  matter : 

"  If  the  assassination 

Could  trammel  up  the  consequence," 

— which  implies  merely  the  attainment  of  the  object 
he  aimed  at,  and  which  was  conveyed  in  these  words  : 

"  and  catch 


"With  his  surcease  success' 


The  question  would  here  suggest  itself,  if  there  should 
not  be  a  full  period  at  the  word  "  success,"  and  the 
commencement  of  the  next  passage  be  looked  upon  as 
a  new  idea  which  strikes  Macbeth  at  the  moment, 
as  thus : 

"  that  but  this  blow 

Might  be  the  be-all,  and  the  end-all  here ; " 

and  that  he  would  run  no  risk  as  to  futurity  ? 
Worldly  ambition  is  the  first  cause  of  this  strange 
soliloquy,  and  fear  of  what  comes  after  death  the 
second.  He  grows  still  more  nervous  the  further  he 
argues  the  matter,  and  finally  concludes  to 

"  proceed  no  further  in  this  business." 

Dr.  Jonson  proposed  an  emendation  of  "its  sur 
cease,"  instead  of  "  his."  Seymour,  in  his  notes  on 
Shakespeare,  says  : — "' His'  would  wipe  out  a  capital 
beauty  in  this  speech.  Macbeth  enters,  ruminating 
upon  an  action  he  is  about  to  commit,  and  now  for 
the  first  time  discloses  it ;  imperfectly,  however,  by 
the  use  of  '  his/  instead  of  the  substantive  to  which 


266  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

in  his  mind  it  has  reference ;  and  of  ' surcease'  instead 
of  a  word  of  more  open  meaning. 

There  are  many  passages  in  the  play  of  Macbeth 
which  have  afforded  food  for  criticism,  time  out  of 
mind,  not  one  of  them  deserving  the  time  and  atten 
tion  devoted  to  them.  Shakespeare  has  given  us  a 
standard,  and  as  these  very  passages  are  given  in  the 
folio  of  1623  properly,  and  it  is  to  be  presumed  cor 
rectly  punctuated,  we  see  no  good  reason  why  they 
should  be  changed  to  suit  different  notions.  To  some 
of  these  we  will  allude.  Mr.  Forrest  was  a  stickler 
to  the  text  of  Shakespeare,  but  he  not  unfrequently, 
unintentionally,  we  know,  deviated  somewhat  from  the 
original.  We  called  his  attention  to  his  reading  of 
the  following  passage,  as  a  direct  deviation  from  the 
text.  Macbeth,  addressing  the  ghost,  says  : 

"  Hence !  horrible !  shadow ! 
Unreal !  mockery  !  hence  ! " 

Contrast  this  with  the  text,  and  the  general  man 
ner  of  reading  it : 

"  Hence  horrible  shadow ! 
Unreal  mockery,  hence  ! " 

[Old  edition.] 

Mr.  Cooper  was  at  one  period  severely  criticised  for 
reading  that  well-known  passage — "If  trembling,  I 
inhibit  thee,"  thus:  using  inhabit  instead  of  inhibit. 
The  fact  is,  this  is  the  original,  and  is  to  be  found  in 
old  English  folios.  Pope  changed  it  to  inhibit,  as  was 
said,  through  his  ignorance  of  old  English  literature. 
The  true  and  literal  meaning  of  the  word  is  to  be  found 
in  the  following  reading : 

"  If  trembling  I  do  Jwitse  me  then,  protest  me 
The  baby  of  a  girl." 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  267 

Macbeth  wishes  the  Ghost  distinctly  to  know  that 
he  will  not  seek  a  habitation,  or  stay  at  home,  on  the 
occasion  of  his  challenge.  Inhibit  is  a  substitute  word, 
and  does  not  carry  out  the  idea  of  the  poet. 

Pope  did  not  show  his  ignorance  of  "  old  English 
literature/'  inasmuch  as  the  definition  given  by  good 
authorities  to  the  true  meaning  and  application  of  the 
words  are  nearly  the  same  :  "  Inhabit " — to  have,  to 
hold,  or  keep  himself,  to  dwell,  to  reside,  to  remain  or 
abide.  "  Inhibit " — to  hold,  to  restrain,  to  withhold, 
to  prevent,  to  forbid.  In  an  old  edition  of  Macbeth 
the  passage  is  given  thus  : 

"  Be  alive  againe 

And  dare  me  to  the  desert  with  thy  sword 
If  trembling,  I  inhabit  (inhibit)  then  protest  mee 
The  baby  of  a  girle." 

There  is  another  passage  which  a  diversity  of  opin 
ion  has  made  popular,  and  is  one  which  we  think  the 
actor  is  justified  in  reading  either  way.  Mr.  Forrest 
read  it  thus : 

"  Hang  out  our  banners  on  the  outward  walls, 
The  cry  is  still  they  come." 

Others  again,  read  it  thus  : 

"  Hang  out  our  banners.     On  the  outward  walls 
The  cry  is,  still  '  they  come.' " 

It  frequently  struck  us  that  the  latter  was  the  most 
correct :  as  banners  on  the  outward  walls  of  the  old 
castles  would  not  have  been  in  accordance  with  Scottish 
customs ;  the  banner  was  generally  placed  in  the  cen 
tre,  or  keep.  Even  in  times  of  peace,  this  banner  was 
often  raised ;  but  in  time  of  war  it  was  the  signal  of 
defiance.  This  being  the  case,  and  the  "outward 


2G8  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

walls "  lined  with    armed  men,  it  may  be  read  with 
equal  dramatic  effect,  thus  : 

"  Hang1  out  our  banners  : — 
On  the  outer  wall  the  cry  is  still  they  come." 

As  those  on  the  outward  walls  had  much  better  op 
portunity  of  seeing  the  approach  of  the  enemy  than 
those  inside,  it  is  natural  to  suppose  the  cry  would 
come  from  them. 

With  all  our  admiration  of  Mr.  Forrest,  his  genius, 
judgment,  and  general  character,  we  cannot  pass  over 
one  period  in  his  dramatic  career  without  comment. 
He  too  readily  fell  a  victim  to  the  flattery  of  the  Eng 
lish  press,  whose  criticisms  he  extolled  at  the  expense 
of  our  own.  Not  that  alone,  but  he  cast  a  reflection 
on  the  literary  taste  and  character  of  the  community 
at  large.  We  contend,  and  with  reason  too,  that  there 
is  as  much  theatrical  talent  in  this  country  as  there  is 
in  England,  and  that  our  critics  are  far  more  indepen 
dent  than  those  of  that  country.  The  history  of  the 
English  drama  furnishes  us  many  instances  of  the 
mendacity  of  the  press  ;  and  when  it  openly  advocates 
the  claims  of  prostitutes  and  noble  seducers,  it  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at  that  the  pure  character  of  our  drama 
and  press  becomes  infected,  when  writers  and  actors 
from  abroad  come  among  us  and  exercise  their  influence 
here  over  both  the  press  and  the  stage. 

Having  already  spoken  of  the  press,  and  its  favora 
ble  notice  during  Mr.  Forrest's  first  visit  to  Europe,  we 
now  introduce  Mr.  Forrest's  letter.  That  he  wrote  it 
under  the  pleasing  emotions  created  by  his  success,  we 
do  not  question ;  and  the  remembrance  of  certain  crit 
iques  published  in  this  country,  written  by  foreigners, 
were  no  doubt  rankling  in  his  breast.  Every  allowance 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  269 

must  be  made ;  but  if  the  tenor  of  the  letter  be  true, 
we  can  only  regret  the  absence  of  a  standard  of  criti 
cism  amongst  us,  and  thank  the  American  tragedian  for 
enlightening  us  on  the  subject.  We  give  the  letter 
entire,  that  we  may  not  be  accused  of  publishing  a  gar 
bled  statement  of  it.  We  have  italicized  the  passages 
alluded  to : 

" My  success  in  England  has  been  very  great. 

While  the  people  evinced  no  great  admiration  of  the 
Gladiator,  they  came  in  crowds  to  witness  my  personation 
of  Othello,  Lear  and  Macbeth.  I  commenced  my  engage 
ment  on  the  17th  of  October,  1837,  at  Old  Drury,  and  ter 
minated  it  on  the  19th  of  December,  having  acted  in  all 
thirty-two  nights,  and  represented  those  three  characters 
of  Shakespeare  twenty-four  out  of  the  thirty-two,  namely, 
Othello  nine  times,  Macbeth  seven,  and  King  Lear  eight — 
this  last  having  been  repeated  oftener  by  me  than  by  any 
other  actor  on  the  London  boards,  in  the  same  space  of 
time,  except  Kean  alone.  This  approbation  of  my  Shake 
speare  parts  gives  me  peculiar  pleasure,  as  it  refutes  the 
opinions  very  confidently  expressed  by  a  certain  clique  at 
home,  that  I  would  fail  in  those  characters  before  a 
London  audience. 

"  But  it  is  not  only  from  my  reception  within  the  walls 
of  the  theatre  that  I  have  reason  to  be  pleased  with  my 
English  friends.  I  have  received  many  grateful  kindnesses 
in  their  hospitable  homes,  and  in  their  intellectual  circles 
have  drank  both  instruction  and  delight.  I  suppose  you 
saw  in  the  newspapers  that  a  dinner  was  given  to  me  by  the 
Garrick  Club.  Sergeant  Talfourd  presided,  and  made  a 
very  happy  and  complimentary  speech,  to  which  I  replied. 
Charles  Kemblc  and  Mr.  Macready  were  there.  The  lat 
ter  gentleman  has  behaved  in  the  handsomest  manner  to 
me.  Before  I  arrived  in  England  he  had  spoken  of  me  in 
the  most  flattering  terms,  and  on  my  arrival  he  embraced 
the  earliest  opportunity  to  call  upon  me,  since  which  time 
he  has  extended  to  me  many  delicate  courtesies  and  atten 
tions,  all  showing  the  native  kindness  of  his  heart,  and  great 
refinement  and  good  breeding.  The  dinner  at  the  Garrick 
was  attended  by  many  of  the  most  distinguished  men. 


270  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

"  I  feel  under  great  obligations  to  Mr.  Stephen  Price, 
who  has  shown  me  not  only  the  hospitalities  which  he 
knows  so  well  how  to  perform,  but  many  other  attentions 
which  have  been  of  great  service  to  me,  and  which,  from 
his  long  experience  in  theatrical  matters,  he  was  more  com 
petent  to  render  than  any  other  person.  He  has  done  me 
the  honor  to  present  me  with  a  copy  of  Shakespeare,  and 
a  Richard's  sword,  which  were  the  property  of  Kean. 
Would  that  he  could  bestow  upon  me  his  mantle  instead 
of  his  weapon !  Mr.  Charles  Kemble,  too,  has  tendered 
me,  in  the  kindest  manner,  two  swords,  one  of  which  be 
longed  to  his  truly  eminent  brother,  and  the  other  to  the 
great  Talma,  the  theatrical  idol  of  the  grand  nation. 

"  The  London  press,  as  you  probably  have  noticed,  have 
been  divided  concerning  my  professional  merits;  though 
as  a  good  republican  I  ought  to  be  satisfied,  seeing  I  had 
an  overwhelming  majority  on  my  side.  There  is  a  degree 
of  dignity  and  critical  precision  and  force  in  their  articles 
generally  (I  speak  of  those  against  as  w^ell  as  for  me,  and 
others,  also,  of  which  my  acting  was  not  the  subject),  that 
place  them  far  above  the  neicspaper  criticisms  of  stage  per 
formances  which  we  meet  with  in  our  country.  Their  com 
ments  always  show  one  thing — that  they  have  read  and 
appreciated  the  writing  of  their  chief  dramatists /  while 
with  us  there  are  many  who  would  hardly  know,  were  it  not 
for  the  actors,  that  Shakespeare  had  ever  existed.  The 
audiences,  too,  have  a  quick  and  keen  perception  of  the 
beauties  of  the  drama.  They  seem,  from  the  timeliness 
and  proportion  of  their  applause,  to  possess  a  previous 
knowledge  of  the  text.  They  applaud  warmly,  but  season 
ably.  They  do  not  interrupt  a  passion,  and  oblige  the  actor 
to  sustain  it  beyond  the  propriety  of  nature ;  but  if  he 
delineates  it  forcibly  and  truly,  they  reward  him  in  the 
intervals  of  the  dialogue.  Variations  from  the  accustomed 
modes,  though  not  in  any  palpable  new  readings,  which, 
for  the  most  part  are  bad  readings,  for  there  is  generally 
but  one  mode  positively  correct,  and  that  has  not  been  left 
for  us  to  discover ;  but  slight  changes  in  emphasis,  tone,  or 
action,  delicate  shadings  and  pencilings,  are  observed  with 
singular  and  most  gratifying  quickness.  You  find  that 
your  study  of  Shakespeare  has  not  been  thrown  away ; 
that  your  attempt  to  grasp  the  character  in  its  '  gross  and 
scope?  as  well  as  in  its  detail,  so  as  not  merely  to  know  how 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  271 

to  speak  what  is  written,  but  to  preserve  its  truth  and  keep 
ing  in  a  new  successio?i  of  incidents,  could  it  be  exposed  to 
them — you  find  that  this  is  seen  and  appreciated  by  the 
audience  j  and  the  evidence  that  they  see  and  feel,  is  given 
with  an  emphasis  and  heartiness  that  make  the  theatre 
shake." 

The  only  cause  Mr.  Forrest  had  to  question  the 
Shakesperian  knowledge  of  his  countrymen,  was  a  few 
isolated  criticisms  upon  his  acting,  which  we  can  prove 
in  every  instance  emanated  from  foreign  pens. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

HOME. — LETTERS    TO     THE  AUTHOR. FORREST     THINKS 

OF     HOME. POSTAL     MATTERS. QUACK     MEDICINE. 

DEATH     IN    THE    POT. GLAD    TO    HEAR    OF    FOR- 

NEY'S       RESIGNATION. A       LEAKY      HOUSE. BAD 

ACTORS. CRITICISM. JOSEPH  M°ARDLE. 

TT7~E  have  numerous  letters  from  Mr.  Forrest.  The 
selection  here  made  is  to  show  the  character  of 
the  man  as  drawn  from  an  epistolary  point  of  view.  In 
fact,  a  man's  letters  are  the  index  to  his  mind.  They 
show  a  love  of  home,  of  friends,  and  those  who  make 
up  his  household.  They  show  that,  although  absent, 
the  heart  is  still  linked  to  home. 

We  often  thought  how  appropriate  the  following 
lines  of  Goldsmith  were  to  Mr.  Forrest ;  for,  although 
he  had  not  those  tender  ties  to  bind  him  to  home — ties 
of  wife  and  children — still  he  had  all  the  feeling  which 
links  man  to  his  homestead.  It  will  be  seen  from  a 
few  extracts  we  have  made  from  his  letters,  that 


272  LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FOREEST. 

although  there  was  no  one  to  welcome  him — no  kindred, 
no  one  to  hurry  through  the  long  corridors  of  his  splen 
did  mansion,  and  clasp  him  with  fond  arms — no  one  to 
cry  out,  "  Papa's  come  ! " — yet  the  home  had  a  charm, 
its  only  charm — his  library  ;  this  he  called  "  the  soul  of 
his  household."  To  him  it  was.  We  give  the  lines 
which  we  deemed  so  applicable  to  Mr.  Forrest : 

HOME. 

"  In  all  my  wand'rings  round  this  world  of  care, 
In  all  my  grief — and  God  has  given  my  share — 
I  still  had  hopes,  my  latest  hours  to  crown, 
Amid  these  humble  bowers  to  lay  me  down ; 
To  husband  out  life's  taper  at  the  close, 
And  keep  the  flame  from  wasting  my  repose ; 
I  still  had  hopes,  for  pride  attends  me  still, 
Amidst  the  swains  to  show  my  book-learned  skill, 
Around  my  fire  an  evening  group  to  draw, 
And  tell  of  all  I  felt  and  all  I  saw ; 
And  as  a  hare,  whom  hounds  and  horns  pursue, 
Pants  to  the  place  from  whence  at  first  he  flew, 
I  still  had  hopes,  my  long  vexations  past, 
Here  to  return,  and  die  at  home  at  last" 

LETTERS. 

"  You  have  frequently  promised  me  to  make  a  collec 
tion  of  my  letters  (if  in  truth  there  be  any  which  deserves 
a  preference),  and  give  them  to  the  public.  I  have  select 
ed  them  accordingly." 

During  Mr.  Forrest's  absence  from  the  city  we  had 
charge  of  his  house,  as  stated  in  a  former  part  of  these 
reminiscences.  A  large  willow  tree  stood  immediately 
in  the  rear  of  his  library,  whose  branches  overshadowed 
the  whole  portion  of  his  back  building,  keeping  the  sun 
light  (in  which  he  so  often  basked)  from  penetrating 
into  the  room.  We  had  this  tree  cut  down,  and  in  a 
letter  describing  the  appearance  of  the  library,  the  effect 
of  the  light  upon  each  object  within  its  range,  and  the 
cheerfulness  prevailing  in  the  absence  of  the  dark  shade 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FOEREST.  273 

from  the  tree,  we  received  a  letter  from  him,  from  which 
we  make  the  following  extract : 

"  CINCINNATI,  OHIO,  November  1st,  18?1. 
u  JAMES  REES,  ESQ.:— Dear  Friend:—    *    *    *  How 
much  I  wish  I  could  have  stood  with  you  in  the  library 
on   Sunday,  amid   the    pleasant   memories   of  that  'Soul 
of  the  Household.'      Your  vivid  description  of  the  scene 
made  me  sigh  for  home  again.      With  many  thanks,  my 
dear  friend,  for  kind  and  thoughtful  offices  in  my  behalf, 
"  I  am  yours  truly, 

"EDWIN'  FORREST. 

"P.  S. — Mr.  McArdle's  regards  to  you,  and  thanks  you 
for  kind  remembrances  of  him." 

"  KANSAS  CITY  (Mo.),  December  27th,  1871^ 
"  DEAR  FRIEND  REES  : — I  received  your  letter  without 
date,  but  postmarked  the  13th  hist.,  at  Nashville  (Tenn.), 
the  other  day,  together  with  the  letters  you  did  me  the 
favor  to  forward  from  my  house.  *  *  *  I  am  glad 
to  hear  that  everything  is  right  about  the  homestead,  and 
that  the  garden  is  improved  by  sunlight  cheerfulness,  since 
the  shade  trees  were  removed.  I  long  to  see  it  under  the 
influence  of  bright  skies  again.  I  wrote  and  sent  you  a 
long  letter  from  Galveston,  Texas,  which,  as  you  have  not 
acknowledged,  I  suppose  has  been  purloined  with  other 
letters  containing  money  which  I  sent  to  others.  I  will 
never  again  trust  money  in  a  post  office  letter/' 

The  attention  of  the  postal  department  about  this 
time  was  called  to  the  sad  state  of  the  post  office  in  Texas, 
and  to  the  loss  of  letters  between  certain  points  in  that 
State  and  Northern  cities.  Several  special  agents  were 
detailed  to  examine  into  the  matter.  The  following 
gentlemen  were  selected  from  the  department  for  that 
purpose :  Major  E.  R.  Petherbridge,  Col.  E.  K.  Shan- 
netts,  and  Col.  John  Peddrick.  The  account  given  to 
the  department  being  a  "  state  affair/'  we  can  only  al 
lude  to  it  here.  Suffice  however  to  say  there  have  been 
fewer  complaints  made  since.  This  is  in  part  owing  to 
17 


274  LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FORKEST. 

the  "  Money  Order  System/'  which  should  be  as  uni 
versal  as  it  is  safe. 

Mr.  Forrest  goes  on  to  say  in  this  letter  : 

• 

"  I  herewith  send  you  some  newspaper  notices,  and 
would  call  your  attention  to  the  long  article  on  Lear,  from 
the  New  Orleans  Republican,  which  is  evidently  written 
with  unusual  power,  struggling  through  former  prejudices. 
It  is,  however,  well  worth  reading. 

****** 

"I  had  an  awful  attack  of  the  gout  while  in  Galves- 
ton,  brought  on  by  taking  a  medicine  for  the  cure  of  that 
disease.  The  doctor  told  me  it  would  reproduce  all  the 
excessive  paroxysms  of  the  gout,  which  I  must  bear,  and  so 
finally  cure  it.  But  my  professional  duties  prevented  me 
fr*m  going  through  the  '  grinding  mill,'  until  such  time  as 
I  shall  have  leisure  to  endure  and  win.  I  have  the  utmost 
confidence  in  the  curative  qualities  of  the  medicine,  which 
is  as  pleasant  to  imbibe  as  a  mint  julep  in  '  fly  time.' 
Only  think  of  that  ;  a  physic  which  is  at  once  delicious  and 
curative.  I  will  give  it  a  fair  trial  next  summer,  if  I 

"EDwnr  FORREST." 


All  that  we  have  to  say  here  is,  that  the  medicine,  so 
delightful  to  the  sense  of  taste,  came  very  near  sending 
the  victim  of  its  trials  to  an  untimely  grave.  We  do  not 
think  we  ever  saw  a  man  nearer  death's  door  than  was 
Mr.  Forrest  after  he  had  taken  four  bottles  of  this 
most  vile  nostrum.  We  use  the  word  vile  in  its  appli 
cation  to  the  nature,  not  the  taste  of  the  medicine. 
We  suggested  to  Mr.  Forrest,  after  he  recovered  from 
the  attack,  to  put  this  label  on  the  few  remaining  bot 
tles  left  : 

"  There  is  death  in  the  pot."—  2  Kings,  iv  :  40. 

We  had  enclosed  to  Mr.  Forrest,  during  his  engage 
ment  at  Pittsburg,  an  article  written  by  some  astute 
critic  of  this  city,  on  Mr.  E.  L.  Davenport's  Hamlet, 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FOEKEST.  275 

wherein  it  was  said  that  that  gentleman  read  a  line 
thus: 

"  Nym  ph,  in  thy  horizons 
Be  all  my  sins  remember'd." 

Now,  Mr.  Davenport  said  nothing  of  the  sort,  but 
the  sapient  critic's  ear  depended  more  upon  that  organ 
than  he  did  upon  common  sense  and  critical  acumen. 
Even,  however,  if  Mr.  Davenport  had  used  the  word 
"horizons,"  instead  of  "orisons,"  he  had  authority  for 
it,  although  the  critic  knew  it  not.  Extract  from  Mr. 
Forrest's  letter : 

"  ST.  CHARLES  HOTEL,         > 
"PiTTSBUHG,  January  28th,  1872.} 

"  JAMES  REES,  ESQ  : — Dear  Friend: — I  duly  received 
your  favor  of  24th  instant.  Send  you  herein  two  checks; 
one  of  them  for  $128.50,  due  G.  B.  Moore,  and  the 
other,  Frank  W.  Taylor,  for  $21.50,  per  bills  rendered. 
Mr.  Hubert's  bill  you  will  please  pay  when  due  from  funds 
already  in  your  hands,  and  also  Mr.  Ralston's  account,  as 
per  your  statement,  $23.91. 

"  Mr.  E.  L.  Davenport  has  authority  for  his  saying  in 
Hamlet  "  horizon,"  for  it  is  given  so  in  the  3d,  4th  and  5th 
quartos,  as  well  as  hi  the  1st.  The  H  is  a  cockney  super 
fluity,  etc." 

«'  PITTSBUKG,  Pa.,  February  22nd,  1872. 
"  A  friend  of  mine,  Mr.  James  P.  Barr,  editor  and  pro 
prietor  of  the  Daily  Post,  in  this  city,  will  call  to  see  the 
pictures,  library,  etc.,  in  my  house,  corner  of  Broad  and 
Master  streets.  I  am  sure  you  will  find  much  pleasure  in 
extending  to  him  any  affable  courtesies,  for  'he  is  a 
good  one,  and  his  worthiness  doth  challenge  much  re 
spect.'  I  am  glad  to  hear  everything  is  right  at  the  house, 
and  that  the  trees  and  bushes  in  the  garden  have  been 
pruned  and  trimmed  under  your  careful  instructions. 
Those  apple  trees  required  a  good  deal  of  pruning.  I  look 
forward  with  great  pleasure  to  the  opening  of  spring, 
when  I  shall  be  at  home  once  more  to  enjoy  in  peace  its 
calm  and  pleasant  comforts  after  the  turmoil  and  excite- 


276  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORREST. 

merit  consequent  upon  the  discharge  of  my  professional 
labors  and  the  weariness  of  continued  travel.  *  *  *  * 

"  I  was  glad  to  hear  friend  Forney  has  resigned  his 
office  of  Collector  of  the  Port  of  Philadelphia,  and  here 
after  if  he  makes  any  change  in  the  future,  let  it  be  for  the 
highest  post  of  honor — the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 

"You  did  just  what  was  right  in  having  the  roofs 
repaired  and  painted  when  they  so  much  needed  it,  and 
without  consulting  me,  for  such  delay  might  have  proved 
very  injurious  to  the  property.  I  am  glad  you  acted  so 
promptly  and  efficiently,  and  the  bills  for  the  work  are  not 
too  high.  [The  reason  we  acted  so  promptly  was,  that 
during  a  very  heavy  rain  the  water  came  through  the  ceil 
ing  of  the  picture-gallery,  and  one  or  two  rooms  in  the 
attic  were  inundated.]  ****** 

"  As  the  girls,  Lizzie  and  Kate,  must  need  money,  pay 
the  former  $42,  and  the  latter  $35,  and  oblige 

"Yours  truly,  "  EDWIN  FOKREST." 

"  PITTSBURG,  PA.,  January  22nd,  1872. 

"DEAR  FRIEND  REES: — Your  letter  of  the  19th  inst. 
is  just  received,  which  I  should  have  got  yesterday  but 
that  I  arrived  here  after  the  post-office  had  closed.  Your 
letter  of  the  10th  inst.  I  duly  received  at  St.  Louis.  Many 
thanks  for  your  kind  and  friendly  attentions  to  my  affairs 
during  my  absence.  Make  yourself  at  home  in  my  library, 
for  I  often  picture  you  '  in  my  mind's  eye'  seated  near  the 
Dramatic  collection,  and  poring  over  the  works  of  your 
favorite  authors.  Have  you  published  your  article  enti 
tled  '  Shakespeare  and  Bacon  ? '  *  *  *  I  wish 
you  could  have  seen  some  of  the  plays  as  we  acted 
them  at  St.  Louis.  Oh  !  such  a  wretched  company — worse 
than  I  ever  met  with — all  wretchedly  bad ;  but  one  woman 

reached  the  depths  of  d n.      She  got  through  Desde- 

mona,  knowing  only  about  fifteen  lines  of  the  Shake- 
sperian  text,  all  the  rest  being  improvised  and  attempted 
to  be  uttered  with  the  sweet  German  accent,  mingled  with 
Cuban  patois  and  negro  French !  The  representative  of 
fair  Desdemona  was,  as  I  learned,  a  native  Cuban,  and 

afterwards  educated  at  Munich.     It  was  the thing  I 

ever  saw,  and  yet  some  of  the  St.  Louis  papers  actually 
commended  her  performance. 

"  Yours,  truly,  "  EDWIN  FORREST." 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOEEEST.  277 

• 

We  had  called  Mr.  Forrest's  attention  to  a  passage 
in  Othello,  as  rendered  in  the  acting  copy,  to  read : 
"  Thou  hadst  better  have  been  born  a  dog,  lago,"  etc., 
instead  of  as  printed  in  the  folio  of  1623,  thus : 

"  Thou  hadst  been  better  have  been  born  a  dog, 
Than  answer  my  wak'd  wrath." 

This  omission  of  the  word  "lago,"  and  transpo 
sition  of  the  words  "been"  and  "better,"  seems  to 
have  been  changed  long  subsequent  to  the. early  quarto 
and  folio  editions  of  Shakespeare's  plays.  Mr.  For 
rest's  reply  to  us  was  to  this  effect : 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  November  19th,  1869. 

"  MY  DEAR  MR.  REES  : — The  line  in  the  first  four  folios 
reads :  '  Thou  hadst  been  better  have  been  born  a  dog,' 
which  is  evidently  a  blunder  of  the  type-setter.  Shake 
speare  never  involved  a  sentence  in  that  way.  Garrick, 
Kemble,  Cooke  and  Kean  spoke  the  line  as  I  do,  thus : 
*  Thou  hadst  better  have  been  born  a  dog,  lago ;'  which  is 
both  the  measure  and  rhythm,  etc. 

"EDWIN  FORREST." 

Subsequently,  we  told  Mr.  Forrest  that  it  was 
scarcely  possible  the  "type-setter"  would  take  the  lib 
erty  of  changing  a  whole  sentence,  and  substituting  a 
word  to  make  the  measure  and  the  rhythm  more  per 
fect,  at  least  in  his  estimation ;  a  liberty  that  type 
setters  have  no  right  to  take  with  the  author's  copy. 

We  are  under  the  impression  that  this  change  in 
the  original  text  was  made  about  the  year  1750.  In 
Cumberland's  edition  of  the  "  British  Theatre,"  Lon 
don,  1829,  there  is  an  allusion  made  to  this  passage, 
but  as  we  have  no  copy  of  the  work,  we  cannot  quote 
the  passage  here.  We  have  a  prompter's  copy  of 
Othello,  as  performed  at  Drury  Lane  Theatre,  pub- 


278  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

lished  with  notes  in  the  year  1777,  with  the  modern 
interpretation  of  the  passage. 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  November  29th,  1869. 
"  JAMES  REES,  ESQ.  —  Dear  /Sir  :  —  I  have  just  received 
your  note  of  this  day.  I  thank  you  for  correcting  my  mis 
take  ahout  Othello.  I  erroneously  supposed  it  had  not 
been  printed  until  its  appearance  in  the  folio  of  1623.  I 
was  wrong  ;  I  had  confounded  it  with  Macbeth.  Othello, 
in  quarto  form,  was  printed  by  N.  O.  for  Thomas  Wath- 
lery,  in  1622  ;  and  another  edition,  without  date,  after  that  ; 
and  another  still,  printed  by  A.  M.,  for  Richard  Hawkins, 
in  1630.  I  have  no  copy  of  the  quarto  of  1622. 

"EDWIK  FORREST." 

The  first  published  edition  of  Othello  was  in  a 
quarto  pamphlet  (1622),  the  original  of  which  has  now 
become  one  of  the  scarcest  of  books,  for  which  rich  bib 
liomaniacs  have  paid  fabulous  prices. 

Whenever  Mr.  Forrest  heard  of  any  one  of  his 
friends  being  sick,  he  inquired  very  particularly  about 
the  nature  of  the  disease.  In  1868,  the  writer  of  this 
had  a  very  severe  attack  of  erysipelas.  It  affected  the 
head  and  eyes  particularly,  and  for  awhile  kept  us  from 
the  office.  Mr.  Forrest  had  been  looking  over  medical 
books,  and  having  obtained  a  knowledge  of  this  terrible 
complaint,  he  found,  as  he  thought,  a  radical  cure,  and 
sent  us  immediately  the  following  note  : 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  November  14th,  1868. 
"  JAMES  REES,  ESQ.  —  My  Dear  /Sir  :  —  I  should  like  to 
have  a  friendly  chat  with  you  to-morrow,  say  about  twelve 
o'clock,  if  you  can  make  it  convenient  to  call  at  my  house. 
Among  other  things,  I  should  like  to  discuss  the  best 
means  of  cure  for  the  erysipelas.  Yours  truly, 

FORREST." 


The  recipe  given  us,  and  which  we  used,  has  been 
mislaid,  the  loss  of  which  we  most  sincerely  regret. 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORKEST.  279 

JOSEPH  MCARDLE,  ESQ. 

The  name  of  this  gentleman  is  mentioned  in  one 
of  the  letters  given  before.  Our  readers  are  no  doubt 
aware  that  he  was  Mr.  Forrest's  business  agent,  in  whose 
hands  the  tragedian  placed  the  whole  management  of  his 
dramatic  engagements,  arranging  terms,  etc.,  thus  giv 
ing  him  full  control  over  all  financial  matters  connected 
with  his  performances.  A  more  energetic,  faithful  and 
reliable  man  does  not  exist  than  Mr.  Joseph  McArdle. 
An  intimate  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Forrest's  for  upwards 
of  thirty  years,  fifteen  of  which  he  had  been  his  faith 
ful  steward,  he  enjoyed  not  only  the  confidence  of  his 
employer,  but  was  his  companion  and  friend.  To  the 
writer  of  this  Mr.  Forrest  often  expressed  the  high  es 
teem  he  had  of  Mr.  McArdle:  who,  he  said,  was  "re 
liable,  trustworthy,  and  studied  my  interests  more  than 
his  own.  As  a  business  man  he  has  no  equal.  I  do 
not  know  what  I  should  do  without  him."  Such  was 
Mr.  Forrest's  opinion  of  Mr.  Joseph  McArdle. 

The  executors  of  the  estate  of  the  deceased  will  no 
doubt  retain  this  gentleman  as  one  of  the  active  agents 
of  the  "  Edwin  Forrest  Home,"  which  was  the  intention 
of  the  testator,  as  the  writer  of  this  can  fully  testify. 

"  Man  proposes,  but  God  disposes." 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

MR.  FORREST'S  RELIGION. — LOVER  OF  NATURE. — LET 
TER  TO  A  FRIEND. "MY  MOTHER." WAS  SHAKE 
SPEARE  A  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  ? MUSIC  IN  CATHE 
DRALS. KING  JOHN. SHAKESPEARE  AND  THE 

BIBLE. 

"  Nature  is  the  glass  reflecting  God, 
As  by  the  sea  reflected  is  the  sun, 
Too  glorious  to  be  gazed  on  in  his  sphere." 

AS  regards  Mr.  Forrest's  religious  belief,  we  do  not 
think  there  is  a  man  living  enabled  to  connect  it 
with  any  of  the  prominent  denominations  of  the  day. 
His  was  a  belief  founded  upon  the  principles  which 
governed  humanity,  and  considered  as  a  direct  law  em 
anating  from  Deity.  "Deity/'  he  observed,  "must  be 
just,  otherwise  man  could  not  have  the  reverence  for 
his  laws  which  is  so  essential  to  a  proper  appreciation 
of  his  Divine  character."  He  respected  the  church  and 
her  members,  but  never  expressed  an  opinion  in  favor 
of  any  particular  one.  Forrest  admired  everything 
that  was  beautiful  in  nature  and  art.  He  would  talk 
to  you  of  flowers — give  their  botanical  names ;  and 
also  those  of  various  plants.  When  riding  out  with 
him  through  the  romantic  grounds  of  the  Park,  every 
object  of  a  natural  character  attracted  his  attention. 
Nature  to  him  in  these  rides  was  the  medium  through 
which  he  raised  his  eyes  to  Deity ;  and  he  would  quote 

(280) 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  281 

some  favorite  author  in  praise  of  her  wondrous  charms, 
and  then  refer  to  others  speaking  of  Him,  their  creator. 
His  remarks  and  observations,  as  we  rode  along  the 
banks  of  the  Wissahickon,  evidenced  a  mind  imbued 
with  the  true  spirit  of  religion ;  the  religion  of  the 
soul — not  of  the  church.  It  was  during  these  rambles 
over  hills  and  valleys,  along  streams  and  through  woods 
— we  learned  more  of  Mr.  Forrest  and  his  belief — 
more  of  his  inner  life — than  we  did  in  the  many  years 
of  his  active  dramatic  career.  We  knew  him  then  in 
the  "  Mimic  World" — we  know  him  now  in  the  great. 
In  the  first,  he  was  the  creature  of  art;  in  the  second, 
he  was  the  student  of  nature. 

It  was,  at  one  time,  stated  that  Mr.  Forrest  had 
been  converted ;  rumor  gave  it  out  that  he  was  study 
ing  for  the  ministry.  He  wrote  a  letter  to  a  friend, 
from  which  we  make  an  extract : — 

"  But  in  answer  to  your  questions,  my  good  friend,  for 
I  know  you  are  animated  only  by  a  sincere  regard  for  my 
spiritual  as  well  as  for  my  temporal  welfare,  I  am  happy 
to  assure  you  that  the  painful  attack  of  inflammatory  rheu 
matism,  with  which  for  the  last  three  months  I  have  corn- 
batted,  is  now  quite  overcome,  and  I  think  I  may  safely 
say  that,  with  the  return  of  more  genial  weather,  I  shall  be 
restored  once  more  to  a  sound  and  pristine  health. 

"  Then,  for  the  state  of  my  mind ;  I  do  not  know  the 
time  since,  when  a  boy,  I  blew  sportive  bladders  in  the 
beamy  sun,  that  it  ever  was  so  tranquil  and  serene  as  in  the 
present  hour.  Having  profited  by  the  leisure  given  me  by 
my  lengthened  illness  seriously  to  review  the  past  and 
carefully  consider  the  future,  both  for  time  and  for  eterni 
ty,  I  have,  with  a  chastened  spirit,  beheld  with  many  re 
grets  that  there  was  much  in  the  past  that  might  have 
been  improved — more,  perhaps,  in  the  acts  of  omission 
than  in  acts  of  commission ;  for  I  feel  sustained  that  my 
whole  conduct  has  been  actuated  solely  by  an  honest  desire 
to  adhere  strictly  to  the  rule  of  right ;  that  the  past  has 


282  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

been  characterized  as  I  trust  the  future  will  be — to  love 
my  friends ;  to  hate  my  enemies — for  I  cannot  be  a  hypo 
crite — and  to  live  in  accordance  with  the  Divine  precept : 
1  As  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  also  to 
them  likewise.' 

"  And  now  for  that  '  higher  welfare '  of  which  you 
speak.  I  can  only  say  that,  believing  as  I  sincerely  do,  in 
the  justice,  the  mercy,  the  wisdom,  and  the  love  of  Him 
who  knoweth  the  secrets  of  our  hearts,  I  hope  I  may  with 

"  '  An  unfaltering  trust  approach  my  grave 
Like  one  who  wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him,  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams.' " 

In  speaking  one  day  of  the  many  temptations  to 
which  youth  was  subject,  and  of  those  whose  connec 
tions  with  the  stage  had  brought  them  to  an  untimely 
grave,  we  asked — "  How  is  it  that  you  have  escaped 
all  these  dangerous  quicksands  ?  Few  men  have  had 
such  temptations  held  out  to  them  as  you  have ;  few 
men  of  your  age  and  impulsive  nature  have  resisted 
them." 

"  True/'  he  said,  "  I  have  had  temptations,  nor 
have  I  resisted  them  on  the  instant ;  the  moment,  how 
ever,  when  on  the  eve  of  becoming  the  inebriate  or  the 
gambler,  and  disgracing  my  profession,  the  words  of  my 
mother  came  up,  angel-like,  and  checked  me  in  my  ca 
reer.  I  may  have  faults ;  I  have  elicited  censure  from 
the  world ;  but  I  flattered  myself  that  the  correction  of 
youthful  errors,  and  strict  attention  to  my  duties  as  an 
actor,  have,  in  a  measure,  redeemed  these  faults.  To 
the  early  lessons  taught  by  my  mother,  and  those  of 
the  good  old  pastor  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  am  I  indebted 
for  all  the  good  that  is  in  me.  I  do  not  say  that  they 
have  made  me  what  the  world  calls  a  religious  man, 
but  they  taught  me  to  appreciate  all  that  is  good  and 
noble  in  man ;  and  to  love  and  admire  all  that  is  bright 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FOKKEST.  283 

and  beautiful  in  the  world,  with  due  reverence  to  Him 
who  created  it."  The  words,  "  To  my  Mother ! "  as 
spoken  by  Mr.  Forrest,  sounded  as  the  heart's  epitaph 

TO    HER    MEMORY. 

Mr.  Forrest  at  one  time  conceived  the  notion  that 
Shakespeare  was  a  Roman  Catholic ;  there  is  nothing 
in  the  writings  of  this  great  man  to  justify  that  idea. 
Nearly  all  the  passages  in  the  works  of  Shakespeare — 
of  a  religious  or  doctrinal  character — have  at  different 
times  been  brought  before  the  reader.  The  object  was 
to  disabuse  the  mind  of  Catholics,  that  Shakespeare 
did  not  belong  to  their  order.  In  1843,  nearly  all  the 
passages  in  the  several  plays  of  the  bard,  of  this  charac 
ter,  were  published  by  Sir  Frederick  B.  Watson,  K.  C. 
H.,  in  a  very  elegant  volume,  printed  for  the  benefit  of 
the  members  of  the  two  principal  theatres  of  London. 
We  called  Mr.  Forrest's  attention  to  this  little  book, 
as  also  to  other  passages,  not  included  in  this  work, 
wherein  Shakespeare  denounces  the  Church  of  Rome  in 
the  most  unmeasured  terms.  It  may  be  said  that  these 
denunciations  are  those  of  the  personages  of  the  plays, 
and  not  the  sentiments  of  the  author.  True,  in  some 
cases,  we  admit  this  is  the  case,  for  Lord  Byron  was 
denounced  an  infidel  for  the  words  he  puts  into  the 
mouth  of  Lucifer  in  his  great  poem  of  "  Cain."  But 
no  true  Catholic  would  put  words  into  the  mouth  of 
the  historical  or  fictitious  character  of  his  dramas  de 
nouncing  the  church  of  which  he  was  a  member,  par 
ticularly  that  of  the  Church  of  Rome  —  sacred  from 
the  corner-stone  to  the  big  toe  of  the  Pope. 

Shakespeare  was  no  Catholic — neither  was  Mr.  For 
rest.  Mr.  Forrest  always  spoke  in  the  highest  terms  of 


284  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

the  music  of  our  churches — more  particularly  that  of 
the  Catholic.  "  The  latter  reminds  me/'  said  he,  "  of 
a  passage  in  an  old  rare  book  ;  the  original  is  not  in  my 
library,  but  it  is  quoted  in  a  work  on  the  stage.  I  will 
read  it  to  you."  Taking  it  from  the  shelf,  he  said : — 
"  The  author,  it  seems,  was  speaking  of  the  origin  of 
the  '  Ode  and  Chorus '  in  honor  of  the  heathen  gods, 
and  connecting  them  with  the  psalms  of  David  and  the 
song  of  Moses,  on  the  deliverance  of  the  Israelites  from 
then*  Egyptian  oppressors,  and  goes  on  to  say  : — c  The 
music  of  the  Temple  was  unquestionably  beyond  all 
conception  —  magnificent  and  grand.  Many  of  the 
psalms  are  little  dramas,  and  were  sung  as  dialogue ; 
a  part  by  the  priests,  and  answers  to  their  parts  were 
finely  interwoven,  when  at  other  times  all  Israel  joined 
in  chorus.  Psalm  ii. :  ch.  xxxv.,  and  many  others,  are 
fine  specimens  of  this  sort  of  poetry.  The  style  of  their 
music  was  probably  much  more  solemn  and  simple  than 
ours,  and  the  instruments  whereby  it  was  conducted, 
powerful  in  a  high  degree.  Perhaps  nothing  so  nearly 
represented  the  joys  of  Heaven  above,  like  the  singing 
of  the  psalms  of  David  in  the  temples  of  old/ 

"Only  imagine,"  says  he,  "all  Israel  joining  in 
chorus.  I  think/'  he  continued,  "the  Catholics  are  the 
only  denomination  at  the  present  who  take  this  view  of 
music  in  their  churches,  and  that  is  one  reason  while  in 
Europe  I  visited  them  on  every  occasion  my  time  and 
business  permitted." 

Mr.  Forrest,  while  in  Paris,  went  in  company  with 
the  Kev.  E.  L.  Magoon,  of  Philadelphia,  to  hear  a  cel 
ebrated  Catholic  priest,  whose  reputation  as  an  orator 
was  national  and  historical.  The  music  of  the  choir,  he 
said,  surpassed  anything  he  ever  heard.  If  we  mistake 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  285 

not,  the  Koyal  family  were  present.  The  priest,  he 
said,  fully  sustained  his  reputation  as  an  orator — fully 
carried  out  the  ancient  idea  that  oratory  was  a  funda 
mental  principle — and  frequently  inculcated  that  the 
orator  ought  to  be  an  accomplished  scholar,  and  con 
versant  in  every  part  of  learning. 

The  passages  to  which  we  called  Mr.  Forrest's  at 
tention  in  defence  of  our  argument,  that  Shakespeare 
was  no  Catholic,  we  annex.  Shakespeare  was  baptized 
in  the  ordinary  way ;  the  old  broken  font  in  which  the 
poet  was  christened,  still  exists ;  it  is,  however,  but  a 
fragment,  the  upper  portion  only  remaining.  It  is  now 
in  possession  of  the  family  of  Mr.  Heritage,  a  builder  at 
Stratford.  It  was  here  Shakespeare  was  christened,  at 
an  established  place  of  worship  in  the  parish.  He  was 
educated  and  brought  up  in  the  Protestant  faith,  by 
good  Protestant  parents,  in  which  faith  he  lived  and 
died.  He  was  certainly  not  a  Catholic  when  he  wrote 
"King  John/'  first  printed  in  1596.  This  passage 
alone  in  sufficient  to  show  the  absurdity  of  his  being 
other  than  a  true  Protestant : 

King  John — Act  III.    Scene  1. 
K.  Philip. — "  Here  comes  the  holy  leg-ate  of  Rome. 

[Enter  Pandi(lph.~] 

Pandulph. — Hail,  you  anointed  deputies  of  heaven. 
To  thee,  King  John,  my  holy  errand  is. 
I,  Pandulph,  of  fair  Milan,  Cardinal, 
And  from  Pope  Innocent,  the  leg-ate  here, 
Do  in  his  name  religiously  demand, 
Why  thou  against  the  church,  our  holy  mother, 
So  wilfully  dost  spurn ;  and,  force  perforce 
Keep  Stephen  Langton,  chosen  Archbishop 
Of  Canterbury,  from  that  Holy  See  ?  * 

King  John. — "What  earthly  name  to  interrogatories 
Can  task  the  free  breath  of  a  sacred  King  ? 
Thou  canst  not,  Cardinal,  devise  a  name 
So  slight,  unworthy  and  ridiculous, 
To  charge  me  to  an  answer,  as  the  Pope. 


286  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

Tell  him  this  tale ;  and  from  the  mouth  of  England, 
Add  thus  much  more, — that  no  Italian  priest 
Shall  tithe  or  toll  in  our  dominions. 

******* 

So  tell  the  Pope ;  all  reverence  set  apart 
To  him,  and  his  usurp'd  authority. 

K.  Philip. — Brother  of  England,  you  blaspheme  in  this. 

K.  John. — Though  you,  and  all  the  kings  of  Christendom, 
Are  led  so  grossly  by  this  meddling  priest, 
Dreading  the  curse  that  money  may  buy  out, 
And  by  the  merit  of  vile  gold,  dross,  dust, 
Purchase  corrupted  pardon  of  a  man, 
Who,  in  that  sale,  sells  pardon  from  himself; 
Though  you,  and  all  the  rest,  so  grossly  led, 
This  juggling  witchcraft  -vrith  revenue  cherish ; 
Yet  I,  alone,  do  me  oppose 
Against  the  Pope,  and  count  his  friends  my  foes. 

Pandulph. — Then  by  the  lawful  power  that  I  have, 
Thou  shalt  stand  cursed  and  excommunicate." 

In  the  first  part  of  King  Henry  VI.  our  readers 
will  find  the  following  (Act  I.,  Scene  3) — a  scene  be 
tween  Winchester  and  Gloster : 

Win. — "  How  now,  ambitious  Humphrey !  What  means  this  ? 

Glos. — Piel'd  priest,  dost  thou  command  me  to  be  shut  out  ?  * 

Win. — I  do,  thou  most  usurping  proditer, 
And  not  protector,  of  the  king  and  realm. 

Glos. — Stand  back,  thou  manifest  conspirator ; 
Thou  that  contriv'dst  to  murder  our  dear  lord ; 
Thou  that  giv'st  whores  indulgence  to  sin.  f 
I'll  canvas  thee  in  thy  broad  cardinal's  hat, 
If  thou  proceed  in  this  thy  insolence. 

Win. — Nay,  stand  thou  back  ;  I  will  not  budge  a  foot. 
This  be  Damascus ;  be  thou  cursed  Cain,  £ 
To  slay  thy  brother  Abel,  if  thou  wilt. 

Glos. — I  will  not  stay  thee,  but  I'll  drive  thee  back. 
Thy  scarlet  robes,  as  a  child's  bearing  cloth, 
I'll  use  to  carry  thee  out  of  this  place. 

*  "  Piel'd  priest."  Piel'd  is  what  is  now  usually  spelt  peel'd,  and  in 
the  folio  of  1623  the  orthgraphy  is  picld.  It  occurs  in  the  same  sense 
in  Measure  for  Measure.  The  allusion  is  to  the  shaven  crown  of  the 
Bishop  of  Winchester. 

f  The  public  stews  in  Southwalk  were  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Bishop  of  Winchester.  In  the  office  book  of  the  court  all  fees 
were  entered  that  were  paid  by  the  keepers  of  these  brothels — the 
church  reaping  the  advantages  of  these  pests  to  society. 

\  "  This  be  Damascus,  be  thou  cursed  Cain,"  etc.  In  "  The  Travels 
of  Sir  John  Mandeville,"  we  find  this  passage  : — "  And  in  that  place, 
where  Damascus  was  founded,  Kayn  sloughe  Abel  his  brother." 


LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  287 

Win. — Do  what  them  dar'st.     I'll  beard  thee  to  thy  face, 

Glos. — What !     Am  I  dar'd  and  bearded  to  my  face  ? 
Draw,  men,  for  all  this  privileged  place ; 
Blue  coats  to  tawny  coats.*     Priest,  beware  your  beard, 

[Gloster  and  his  men  attack  the  bishop.] 
I  mean  to  tug-  it,  and  cuff  you  soundly. 
Under  my  feet  I  stamp  thy  cardinal's  hat, 
In  spite  of  pope  or  dignities  of  church ; 
Here  by  the  cheeks  I  drag  thee  up  and  down. 

Win. — Gloster,  thou'lt  answer  this  before  the  pope. 

Glos. — Winchester  goose  !  f  I  cry — a  rope  !  a  rope  I 
Now  bear  them  hence  ;  why  do  you  let  them  stay  ? 
Thee  I'll  chase  hence,  thou  wolf  in  sheep's  array. 
Out,  tawny  coats  !  out,  scarlet  hypocrite."  \ 

When  these  passages  were  brought  before  Mr.  For 
rest,  and  which  he  made  copies  himself  from  the  folio 
of  1623,  he  gave  one  of  his  peculiar  smiles,  and  said, 
"  Shakespeare  was  a  great  man,  sir/' 

Shakespeare's  familiarity  with  the  Bible  we  con 
sider  one  of  the  most  striking  proofs  of  his  religious 
tendencies.  This  knowledge  far  surpasses  that  of  his 
legal  and  medical  acquirements,  and  ranks  second  only 
to  that  of  his  literary  attainments.  The  Bible  and 
Shakespeare  are  synonymed.  In  fact  we  may  sum  up 
his  wonderful  power  and  genius  in  the  one  line  of 
Dr.  Johnson,  who  in  praise  of  Shakespeare  says  : 

"  That  he  exhausted  worlds,  and  then  imagined  new." 

*  Tawny  coats  were  worn  by  the  attendants  of  the  Bishop.  Stow, 
in  a  passage  quoted  by  Stevens,  speaks  on  one  occasion  of  the  Bishop 
of  London,  who  was  "  attended  on  by  a  goodly  company  of  gentle 
men  in  tawny  coats."  Gloster's  men  wore  blue  coats. 

f  "  Winchester  goose."  That  the  reader  may  better  understand 
the  terrible  words  of  Gloster  addressed  to  the  Bishop  and  the  insult 
aimed  at  his  church,  the  word  goose  was  a  particular  stage  of  the  dis 
ease  contracted  in  the  stews.  Hence  Gloster  bestows  the  epithet  on 
the  bishop  in  derision  and  scorn,  referring  to  his  licentious  life  so 
strongly  painted  in  Act  III.,  Scene  1,  of  this  most  extraordinary 
play. 

\  We  have  no  doubt  but  Shakespeare  introduced  these  terrible 
passages  against  the  Church  of  Eome  to  please  Queen  Elizabeth, 
tshe  having  been  trained  up  in  a  hatred  of  Popery. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

MR.  FORREST'S  CHARITY.  —  HOW  HE  DISPENSED  IT.  —  THE 
ACTOR'S  WIDOW.  —  THE  DUTIFUL  SON.  —  PLEASING 
INCIDENT.  -  LIBERAL  TO  HIS  PARTY.  -  FORREST  AND 

THE   POOR.  -  AN    UNJUST  DEMAND    UPON    HIS    PURSE. 


the  time  Mr.  Forrest  achieved  his  great 
triumph  over  the  prejudice  which  gave  to 
other  countries  all  the  honor  and  profits  derived  from 
stage  talent  and  dramatic  literature,  he,  like  some 
fabled  god;  bounded  over  the  mimic  world  and  became 
its  ruler. 

Fortune  flowed  in  upon  him  in  golden  streams,  and 
in  time  he  became  a  millionaire.  Many  persons  have 
an  idea  that  Mr.  Forrest  worshipped  the  "  almighty 
dollar."  Not  so.  He  was  liberal,  and  nothing  offended 
him  more  than  to  have  his  private  charities  the  subject 
of  comment.  The  writer  of  this  had  many  opportuni 
ties  of  witnessing  the  exercise  of  this  great  virtue 
in  Mr.  Forrest.  The  word  charity  in  modern  accep 
tation  implies  the  giving  of  alms  to  the  poor.  The 
New  Testament,  however,  does  not  give  it  that 
signification  altogether.  Clarke,  in  his  Commentaries, 
says  :  "  It  appears  that  the  word  charity,  in  the  New 
Testament,  does  not  signify  (as  we  use  it)  only  alms 
to  the  poor,  but  that  universal  love  and  good  will  to 
wards  all  men,  which  includes  both  it  and  all  other 
virtues;  the  constant  practice  of  which  universal 

(288) 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  289 

charity  is  indeed  worshipping  God  in  spirit  and  in 
truth/'  [This  comment  is  upon  I.  Corinthians ; 
Chap.  xiii.  ;  v.  2.] 

In  Mr.  Forrest's  case,  no  thought  of  his  charities 
being  a  coverlid  for  a  man's  sins,  or  a  mere  shadow  of 
religion,  ever  crossed  his  mind.  With  him  to  assist  a 
fellow-creature  was  a  duty,  and  in  almost  every  case 
the  act  of  giving  was  on  the  instant  a  case  of  distress 
was  brought  before  him.  Not  long  since  the  editor  of 
a  paper  in  this  city  said,  among  other  things,  speaking 
of  Mr.  Forrest,  that  he  "  has  never  been  noted  for  any 
particular  action  in  favor  of  the  unfortunate  members 
of  the  profession."  This  is  untrue.  Mr.  Forrest 
has  given  in  public  and  private  charity  upwards  of 
forty  thousand  dollars !  It  would  be  useless  for  us  to 
reason  with  those  who  doubt  this ;  for,  unless  we 
placed  before  them  the  figures,  they  would  not  be 
convinced.  It  is  not  for  us  to  open  Mr.  Forrest's  pri 
vate  memorandum  book  and  produce  the  proof,  as 
there  are  many  living  whose  names  are  on  the  list  who 
were  the  recipients  of  his  bounty.  Mr.  Forrest's  charity 
was  like  that  of  EsrefFs,  in  the  following  beautiful 
tradition : 

"  Zaccher  and  Esreff  begged  Morah,  their  tutor,  to  per 
mit  them  to  visit  the  curiosities  of  Aleppo.  He  gave  them 
a  few  aspers  to  expend  as  they  thought  proper;  and  on 
their  return,  he  inquired  how  they  had  bestowed  the  mon 
ey.  '  I,'  said  Zaccher,  (  bought  some  of  the  finest  dates 
Syria  ever  produced :  the  taste  was  exquisite.'  c  And  I,' 
said  Esreff,  '  met  a  poor  woman,  with  an  infant  at  her 
breast ;  her  cries  pierced  me ;  I  gave  her  my  aspers,  and 
grieved  that  I  had  not  more.'  '  The  dates,'  said  Morah  to 
Zaccher,  '  are  gone  ;  but  Esreff 's  charity  will  be  a  lasting 
blessing,  and  contribute  to  his  happiness,  not  only  in  this 
life,  but  in  that  to  come.'" 

18 


290  LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

We  could  write  a  small  volume  upon  the  subject  of 
Mr.  Forrest's  charities — speak  of  incidents,  scenes  of 
distress,  cases  of  gratitude  and  ingratitude  arising  from 
them.  Some  of  these  are  of  such  a  nature  as  to  render 
them  apochryphal  in  the  estimation  of  those  who  knew 
but  little  of  Mr.  Forrest's  inner-life.  Few  would  be 
lieve  that  he  took  his  cloak  from  his  back,  and  wrapped 
it  around  a  half-frozen,  wretched  man,  and  had  him 
taken  care  of.  Such,  however,  was  the  fact.  As  we 
have  said,  our  purpose  is  not  to  parade  instances  of  this 
kind  before  our  readers.  They  have  nothing  to  do  with 
the  subject  of  these  Reminiscences,  of  whose  stage- 
life  and  public  career  it  is  alone  our  purpose  to  speak. 
Still  we  deem  it  necessary  to  allude  to  his  charities, 
as  his  reticence  and  that  of  the  recipients  of  his 
bounty  have  given  rise  to  reports  of  his  lack  of  this 
virtue  and  love  of  money;  both  are  false  and  unjust 
to  his  memory. 

One  or  two  instances,  however,  will  show  the  man 
ner  of  Mr.  Forrest's  dispensing  charity.  Every  winter 
— more  particularly  what  is  called  a  hard  one — orders 
were  left  at  the  grocers  from  whom  Mr.  Forrest  pur 
chased  his  supplies,  to  refuse  no  poor  person  wanting 
credit,  and  the  bills  were  to  be  sent  to  him  for  settle 
ment.  It  was  left  with  the  grocer  to  discriminate  who 
were  to  be  the  recipients  of  his  bounty.  This  plan  was 
suggested  by  Miss  Elenora,  sister  of  Mr.  Forrest,  and 
during  the  latter  part  of  her  life  she  superintended  the 
carrying  out  of  this  praiseworthy  system.  This  estima 
ble  lady,  the  last  of  her  kindred,  died  June  3rd,  1871. 
In  a  notice  of  her  death,  which  we  wrote  at  the  time, 
and  published  in  The  Press,  we  made  an  allusion  to 
this  fact,  in  the  following  language : 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKREST.  291 

"  Kind,  gentle,  with  a  hand  open  to  charity,  she  did  not 
remain  at  home  awaiting  the  call  of  the  destitute  and  suffer 
ing;  but  when  the  storms  and  the  tempests  of  winter  came, 
and  the  poor  were  suffering,  bearing  their  poverty  and 
wretchedness  in  silence,  it  was  her  hand  that  came  forth 
unsolicited  to  aid  them." 

An  interesting  incident  occurred,  to  which  the  atten 
tion  of  Mr.  Forrest  was  called  by  a  letter  written  by  a 
member  of  a  well-known  firm  in  this  city,  at  the  request 
of  the  widow  of  an  old  actor,  who,  with  two  children, 
was  in  actual  want.  The  object  of  the  writer  was  to 
dispose  of  a  picture  she  had,  suitable,  as  she  thought, 
to  the  taste  of  the  tragedian.  To  this  letter,  bearing 
the  address  of  the  gentleman  who  wrote  it,  there  came 
no  reply,  nor  did  he  hear  anything  more  of  the  subject 
until  several  weeks  had  passed,  when  he  ascertained 
that  the  widow  and  her  children  had  been  taken  from 
their  wretched  home  and  placed  in  more  comfortable 
lodgings.  The  gentleman  who  superintended  her  re 
moval,  purchased  additional  furniture,  and  gladdened 
the  widow's  heart,  was  an  agent  of  Edwin  Forrest. 
The  picture  still  hangs  in  the  neat  little  parlor  of  its 
owner. 

We  could  furnish  other  instances  equally  inter 
esting,  and  as  characteristic  of  the  man,  but  space  will 
not  permit.  A  short  time  before  his  death,  he  showed 
us  a  letter  he  had  received  from  a  young  man,  to  this 
effect :  In  looking  over  the  papers  of  his  father,  who 
died  on  his  way  to  New  Orleans,  the  young  man  (his 
son)  found  a  memorandum  stating  :  "  Due  Edwin  For 
rest,  Two  Hundred  Dollars  (money  borrowed)."  The 
letter  requested  Mr.  Forrest  to  inform  him  if  such  was 
the  case.  In  reply  he  said  it  was,  and  that  he  held  a 
due  bill  for  that  amount.  The  letter  shown  us  was  to 


292  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

say  that  if  the  due  bill  was  forwarded  to  Mr.  Forrest's 
agent,  or  friend,  it  would  be  paid. 

Mr.  Forrest's  answer,  which  he  read  us,  was  noble, 
generous  and  kind — saying  :  "  Not  a  cent  will  I  receive 
from  you  to  pay  a  debt  of  your  father's — and  my 
friend.  The  due  bill  I  hold  was  pressed  upon  me  by 
your  father.  I  knew  the  man — knew  his  worth,  and 
had  he  lived  it  would  have  been  paid.  I  will  take 
nothing  from  his  children ;  the  due  bill,  which  I  had 
long  since  forgotten,  is  i cancelled.'"  This  letter  was 
sent — the  son's  reply  was  equally  noble,  stating,  that 
they  were  enabled  to  pay  it,  that  the  family  were  not 
straitened  in  circumstances,  and  that,  for  his  father's 
memory,  he  hoped  Mr.  Forrest  would  not  refuse  the 
amount  sent  by  the  same  mail  in  a  draft. 

The  gentleman  alluded  to  here,  whose  name  if 
given,  would  be  recognized  as  holding  a  high  position 
in  our  stage  history,  was  a  Philadelphian  by  birth,  and 
an  old,  valued  and  much  regretted  friend  of  him  who 
lives  to  record  these  facts. 

Col.  John  W.  Forney,  in  his  admirable  book,  en 
titled  "Anecdotes  of  Public  Men/'  speaking  of  Mr. 
Forrest,  says : 

"  He  gave  liberally  to  the  Union  cause  without  being  a 
Republican.  Though  he  did  not  unite  with  us  when  we 
sung  ( John  Brown,'  none  could  have  been  more  graceful 
and  ready  in  contributing  to  the  general  pleasure." 

In  a  future  part  of  these  "Reminiscences  "  we  will 
give  the  balance  of  the  article  from  Col.  Forney's  book 
which  the  reader  will  find  in  that  work,  on  page  77. 

The  fact  is,  Mr.  Forrest,  unlike  other  wealthy  men, 
performed  acts  of  benevolence  when  and  where  they 
were  beneficial,  and  not  for  newspaper  notoriety.  His 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  293 

true  friends  knew  his  good  qualities — the  public  gen 
erally  knew  him  only  as  an  ACTOR. 

Mr.  Forrest,  at  one  time,  was  highly  censured  for 
refusing  to  act  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  in  his  native 
city,  during  a  winter  of  unusual  severity.  The  com 
mittee  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  this 
laudable  object  was  composed  of  some  of  the  wealthiest 
men  in  the  city,  who  considered  they  had  a  right  to 
dispose  of  his  services  as  they  thought  proper,  and 
actually  wanted  him  to  give  his  night's  service  and  its 
result  for  the  poor.  These  very  (rich)  men  would  con 
tribute  the  price  of  a  ticket,  and  asked  of  Mr.  Forrest 
five  hundred  dollars.  As  a  matter  of  course,  he  refused 
his  professional  services.  This  was  considered  in  the 
light  of  a  crime — an  actor  dared  to  fly  in  the  face  of  a 
committee  who  had  the  generosity  to  buy  a  ticket  valued 
at  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents — all  for  the  poor.  The 
press  took  up  the  matter,  and  was  shocked  at  Mr.  For 
rest's  want  of  liberality  in  refusing  to  give  five  hundred 
dollars,  when  these  men — many  of  them  far  wealthier 
than  the  actor — were  giving  their  mite  in  the  shape  of 
the  price  of  a  ticket.  It  was  monstrous — an  outrage — 
and  not  to  be  endured  !  Mr.  Forrest  made  this  prop 
osition  to  the  committee,  that  if  the  gentlemen  who 
were  so  clamorous  on  the  subject  of  his  refusal,  were  to 
show  him  the  list  and  the  amount  attached  to  their 
respective  names,  he  would  double  the  highest  sum 
mentioned — if  five  hundred,  he  would  give  a  thousand  ! 
This  they  declined,  and  we  believe  it  has  never  been 
known  how  much  was  subscribed,  nor  the  amount  paid 
over  to  the  poor  of  the  city.  Mr.  Forrest  did  not  for 
get  the  poor  during  that  hard  and  severe  winter. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

CORIOLANUS. — ITS      ORIGIN. — THE      ACTOR. — MR.     FOR- 

REST'S    IMPERSONATION    OF    THE    CHARACTER. THE 

MARBLE  STATUE. MR.  THOMAS  BALL,  THE  SCULP 
TOR. SPLENDID  SPECIMEN  OF  ART. A  PERSPEC 
TIVE  GLANCE  OF  THE  ACTOR'S  HOME. 

IN  Chapter  XIV.  of  these  Eeminiscences  we  alluded 
to  the  play  of  Coriolamis  in  connection  with  Mr. 
Forrest.  As  that  gentleman's  impersonation  of  the 
character  furnished  the  subject  for  a  celebrated  sculp 
tor  to  produce  a  marble  portrait  statue  of  the  emi 
nent  tragedian  as  Caius  Marcius  Coriolanus,  we  devote 
another  portion  of  these  Reminiscences  to  the  Play, 
the  Actor  and  the  Sculptor. 

This  fine  production  of  art  will  be  a  prominent 
feature  in  the  "  Forrest  Home/' 

THE     PLAY. 

As  we  said  before,  this  inimitable  drama  was  derived 
chiefly  from  the  memoirs  of  Coriolanus  contained  in 
the  "Lives  of  the  noble  Grecians  and  Romanes  com 
pared  together,  by  that  grave  learned  Philosopher  and 
Historiographer,  Plutarch  of  Cheronea  ;  "  translated  by 
Thomas  North,  Esq.,  Comptroller  of  the  Household  to 
Queen  Elizabeth.  London,  1579. 

The  scene  is  laid  in  Rome,  and  partly  in  the  terri 
tories  of  the  Volscians  and  Antiates,  and  the  action 

(294) 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  295 

commences  with  the  secession  to  the  Mons  Sacer  in  the 
year  of  Rome,  262,  and  ends  with  the  death  of  Corio- 
lanus,  Y.  R.  266. 

There  is  no  entry  of  this  play  earlier  than  that  of 
the  folio  of  1623 ;  but  from  a  slight  resemblance  be 
tween  the  language  of  the  fable  told  by  Meneius  in  the 
first  scene,  and  that  of  the  same  apologue  in  Camden's 
Remains,  published  in  1605.  Malone  supposes  the  pas 
sage  to  have  been  imitated  from  that  volume.  From 
the  history  above  mentioned  Shakespeare  has  taken 
many  of  the  speeches,  and  such  alterations  were  made 
as  were  necessary  to  form  them,  into  blank  verse.  He 
assigns  the  production,  however,  to  1609  or  1610, 
partly  because  most  of  the  other  plays  of  Shakespeare 
have  been  reasonably  referred  to  other  years,  and  there 
fore  the  present  might  be  most  naturally  ascribed  to  a 
time  when  he  had  not  ceased  to  write,  and  was  probably 
otherwise  unemployed,  and  partly  from  Yolumnia 
mentioning  the  mulberry  the  while,  species  of  which 
were  brought  into  England  in  great  quantities. 

A  tragedy  of  the  same  name  and  subject  as  the 
present,  by  James  Thompson,  was  produced  at  Covent 
Garden  in  1748,  for  the  benefit  of  the  author's  family, 
by  the  zeal  of  Sir  George  Lyttleton ;  which  raised  a 
considerable  sum,  though  it  added  nothing  to  the  poet's 
fame.  In  1755,  Thomas  Sheridan  brought  out  Co- 
riolanus  ;  or,  the  Roman  Matron,  at  the  same  theatre, 
composed  from  both  Shakespeare  and  Thompson, 
which  had  some  success,  being  assisted  by  a  splendid 
ovation.  The  best  revisal,  however,  was  that  also 
taken  from  both  authors  by  John  P.  Kemble,  produced 
originally  at  Drury  Lane,  in  February,  1789,  and  some 
times  ascribed  to  Wrighten,  the  prompter.  It  was 


29G  LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

again  brought  out  by  the  same  excellent  performer, 
with  some  additions  from  Thompson,  at  Covent  Gar 
den,  November  3rd,  1806,  in  which  his  Coriolanus  and 
the  Volumnia  of  Mrs.  Siddons,  formed  the  proudest 
display  of  even  their  magnificent  histrionic  powers.  It 
was  in  the  part  of  the  Koman  General  that  Mr.  Kem- 
ble  took  leave  of  the  stage,  at  the  above  theatre,  on 
Monday,  June  23rd,  1817. 

THE     ACTOR. 

The  only  American  actor  who  had  distinguished 
himself  in  Coriolanus  was  Mr.  Edwin  Forrest.  His 
splendid  figure,  his  surprising  strength  and  yet  pon 
derous  grace,  if  we  may  be  allowed  the  expression,  of 
his  fine  frame,  make  a  perfect  picture  of  the  Roman 
warrior.  "  He  is,"  says  a  London  critic,  "  more  like 
the  creation  of  Polidora  de  Carravaggio's  triumphant 
victors  than  the  sculptured  Apollo  of  the  Academy." 
Added  to  which,  he  possessed  the  fire  of  genius,  which 
alone  gives  life  and  animation  to  the  picture. 

Mr.  Forrest,  both  by  education  and  national  pro 
clivities,  was  peculiarly  adapted  to  this  character. 
The  argument  of  the  play  is  decidedly  opposed  to  the 
aristocracy,  although  the  characters  speak  for  and 
against  it.  Liberty  and  slavery — the  privilege  of  the 
few  and  the  claims  of  the  many — are  alike  ably  as  well 
as  politically  handled.  Mr.  Forrest's  sarcastic  mode  of 
speaking,  when  these  subjects  are  introduced,  was  one 
of  his  striking  features.  Coriolanus,  however,  is  not 
a  republican ;  he  rates  the  people  as  if  he  were  a  god 
to  punish,  and  not  a  man  of  their  infirmity. 

In  1864,  we  wrote  the  following  article,  being  one 
of  several  we  had  written  upon  his  Coriolanus,  and  the 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  297 

last : — "  It  seems  to  us  that  this  version  of  Coriolanus 
is  of  a  more  modern  date  than  any  one  adapted  to  the 
stage  that  we  have  witnessed.  Whose  version  is  it  ? 
The  commendations  which  from  time  to  time  have  been 
given  to  three  great  actors — K enable,  Cooke  and  Con- 
way — speak  of  a  play  intact  with  the  fame  of  Shake 
speare.  There  is  not  only  a  heavy  discount  in  this 
piece  of  language,  but  a  very  large  percentage  taken 
from  its  original  dramatic  construction. 

"We  have  always  opposed  this  pruning  system,  as 
having  a  tendency  to  lessen  the  stage  attractions  of 
any  piece,  though  it  be  even  one  of  Shakespeare's.  It 
is  true,  Coriolanus  stands  out  in  bold  relief — the  pro 
minent  figure  in  the  picture.  Yet,  the  shades  of  light, 
so  essential  to  give  it  effect,  are  so  scattered  that  the 
harmony  of  the  whole  is  materially  marred.  There  is 
no  blending  of  character  to  bring  out  the  real  beauties 
of  the  picture. 

"We  have  spoken  of  Mr.  Forrest's  Coriolanus  as 
being  great.  It  is  so,  whatever  difference  of  opinion 
may  exist  upon  the  subject.  Our  praises  of  Mr.  Forrest 
are  the  expression  of  an  opinion  formed  years  ago,  and 
are  strengthened  by  his  progressive  improvements  in 
the  art.  They  have  no  other  standard.  We  speak  of 
an  artist  without  regard  to  name  or  country,  friend  or 
enemy.  In  the  gigantic  school  of  art,  among  the  clus 
tered  gems  that  grace  the  walls  of  the  Academy,  we 
criticise  the  work — not  the  man. 

"  Coriolanus  is  a  peculiar  character.  He  is  the  crea 
ture  of  a  mother's  pride,  and  what  he  does  '  is  to  please 
her,  and  to  be  partly  proud.'  But  he  is  not  partly 
proud  ;  he  was  ( thoroughly  and  extremely  proud,  even 
to  the  altitude  of  his  virtue/  He  is  at  times  the  slave 


298  LIFE     OP    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

of  passion,  then  of  subdued  emotion ;  at  others,  fu 
rious,  mad,  or  blinded,  if  you  please ;  but  in  all  and 
through  all  the  method  is  principled.  All  these  con 
flicting  elements  were  handled  by  Mr.  Forrest,  as 
Franklin  handled  and  subdued  the  lightning,  bring 
ing  it  submissive  to  his  will.  Again,  the  pride  of  Co- 
riolanus  is  that  of  a  noble  ;  it  is  tinctured  with  the 
prejudices  of  his  education,  and  assumes  at  times 
more  the  shape  of  insult  to  those  around  him  than 
a  distant  reserve  to  preserve  his  dignity.  Coriolanus 
has  lain,  as  it  were,  for  many  years — silent,  cold, 
classic,  it  has  slept  in  its  lettered  tomb,  or,  like  an 
encrusted  diamond,  in  its  gemmed  mine.  Mr.  For 
rest  has  raised  it  from  its  coffined  home,  and  while 
gazing  upon  its  motionless  form,  as  it  lays  in  its  mo 
tionless  classic  beauty  before  him,  he  studied  its  his 
tory,  scientifically  anatomized  it,  and,  as  he  read  the 
burning  pages  describing  the  man  of  his  time,  he 
breathed  upon  it  the  genius  of  the  actor,  and  gave  life 
to  its  poetic  creation.  It  came  forth  the  Coriolanus  of 
Shakespeare,  full  of  life  and  action. 

"It  was  the  diamond  of  the  mind,  fashioned  into 
beauty  by  the  artiste.  We  have  spoken  of  Mr.  For 
rest's  Coriolanus  as  a  masterly  whole — it  would  be 
lost  labor  to  particularize  its  parts.  Its  colossal  grand 
eur  cannot  be  improved  by  additions,  nor  its  beauty 
lessened  by  the  shafts  of  envious  criticism. 

"  Mr.  Forrest's  Coriolanus  was  a  most  masterly  per 
formance  ;  the  Roman  manliness  of  his  face  and  figure, 
the  haughty  dignity  of  his  carriage,  and  the  fire  of  his 
eye,  conspired  to  render  his  impersonation  of  the  char 
acter  one  of  the  most  striking  performances  that  was 
ever  exhibited  upon  the  stage. 


LIFE    OF    EDWIlST    FORREST.  299 

"  The  mode  in  which  Mr.  Forrest  pronounced  the 
word  Coriolanus  has  from  his  authority  become  gener 
ally  prevalent.  Mr.  Forrest  could  at  all  times  be  taken 
as  the  standard  of  correct  pronunciation,  either  of 
names  or  words.  He  threw  the  accent  on  the  second 
syllable  of  this  derivative  word  Coriolanus,  because 
the  accent  rests  upon  the  second  syllable  in  the  primi 
tive  word,  Corioli.  As  uttered  by  some  actors,  slurring 
the  first  syllable,  it  is  drawled  out  Cow-ri-o-lanus,  but 
should  be  pronounced  short  and  quick  as  accented 
above. 

"  It  is  a  question,  however,  if  by  throwing  the  accent 
on  the  second  syllable  it  would  not  tend  to  lengthen 
the  word,  as  far  as  sound  goes ;  for  the  breath  in  the 
pronunciation  of  any  long  word  cannot  be  conveniently 
suspended  till  the  last  syllable,  which  is  long  in  this  in 
stance,  as  the  other  is  short.  Hamblin,  we  think  it 
was,  who,  like  Kemble,  was  troubled  with  asthma,  in 
variably  adopted  this  course  for  breath-sake.  And  pro 
nounced  it  thus — Corio-lanus.  We  leave  it  to  the 
more  learned  to  decide  the  question." 

THE  STATUE. 

THOMAS  BALL'S  MARBLE  PORTRAIT  STATUE  OF 
EDWIN  FORREST  AS  CAIUS  MARCIUS  CORIOLANUS. — 
This  work,  the  result  of  personal  friendship,  owes 
its  existence  to  the  persistent  efforts  of  a  few  of  Mr. 
Forrest's  intimate  friends,  who,  so  long  ago  as  the  year 
1862,  applied  unsuccessfully  to  Mr.  Forrest  for  his  per 
mission  and  the  sittings  necessary  for  its  execution. 

In  January,  1863,  Mr.  Forrest  having  consented  to 
give  to  Mr.  Thomas  Ball  the  desired  facilities,  the 
model  was  made  in  Philadelphia,  and  in  1865  Mr.  Ball 


300  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

went  to  Italy  to  complete  the  statue  in  marble.  The 
following  extract  is  from  a  letter  written  at  Florence 
after  the  completion  of  the  large  model : 

"  While  Ball  has  succeeded  in  giving  a  most  striking 
personal  likeness  of  the  great  actor,  he  has  imparted  to  the 
statue  the  inspiration  of  the  Roman  Consul.  There  is  a 
grandeur  about  the  work  that  will  add  new  lustre  to  the 
genius  of  Ball,  while  at  the  same  time  it  will  closely  iden 
tify  Forrest's  name  and  fame  with  the  best  works  of  art." 

After  the  statue  was  finished,  the  artist  is  reported 
to  have  said : 

"  If  my  countrymen  will  not  accept  this  as  a  true  rep 
resentation,  in  marble,  of  our  great  national  tragedian,  it  is 
not  in  my  power  to  gratify  their  wishes." 

We  think  the  artist  has  done  himself  justice  in  his 
modelling  and  finish.  The  attitude  is  strong  and  well 
balanced.  .  The  drapery  is  gracefully  managed  in  its 
falls  and  folds  ;  and  the  other  details  of  the  dress  show 
accurate  chiselling.  The  head  also  is  vigorously  shaped 
and  cut.  The  height  of  the  figure  is  six  feet  six 
inches,  which  is  some  eight  inches  taller  than  Mr.  For 
rest.  The  extreme  height  of  the  figure  and  pedestal 
is  eleven  feet,  and  the  weight  is  over  three  tons. 

The  statue  represents  Coriolanus  in  act  v.  scene  iii. 
The  tent  of  Coriolanus.  Enter  in  mourning  habits, 
Virgilla.  Volumnia,  leading  young  Maricus  Valeria, 
and  attendants. 

"  My  wife  comes  foremost ;  then  the  honor'd  mould 
Wherein  this  trunk  was  framed,  and  in  her  hand 
The  grandchild  to  her  blood.     But,  out,  affection ! 
All  bond  and  privilege  of  nature  break  ! 
Let  it  be  virtuous  to  be  obstinate. 
What  is  that  curt'sy  worth,  or  those  dove  eyes, 
Which  can  make  gods  forsworn  ?     I  melt,  and  am  not 
Of  stronger  earth  than  others.     My  mother  bows ; 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOEEEST.  301 

As  if  Olympus  to  a  mole-hill  should 

In  supplication  nod ;  and  my  young  boy 

Hath  an  aspect  of  intercession,  which 

Great  Nature  cries  :  Decry  not ;  let  the  voices 

Plough  Eome  and  harrow  Italy ;  I'll  never 

Be  such  a  gosling  to  obey  instinct ;  but  stand 

As  if  a  man  were  author  of  himself, 

And  knew  no  other  kin." 

In  imagination  we  see  the  veterans  of  the  stage, 
now  the  recipients  of  the  munificent  bounty  of  the 
founder  of  the  "  Forrest  Home,"  standing  in  one  of  the 
vast  rooms  of  the  palatial  mansion,  gazing  upon  his 
"marble  portrait  statue  ; "  and  as  they  gather  round  it, 
relating  many  a  tale  of  the  past,  wherein  each  and 
every  one  bore  a  part.  Passing  from  this  room  into 
the  library,  there  we  see  them  poring  over  the  books 
of  the  drama,  and  in  almost  every  one  the  name  of  Ed 
win  Forrest  bears  witness  to  that  gentleman's  love  for 
the  drama,  and  a  proper  appreciation  of  its  literature. 
Passing  from  the  library  into  the  picture  gallery,  we 
find  them  gazing  in  silent  wonder;  there  they  see  a 
vast  collection  of  works  of  art — paintings,  sculptured 
figures,  souvenirs  of  admiring  friends — embracing  every 
walk  and  vocation  of  life.  Passing  from  this,  we  im 
agine  them  rehearsing  in  the  neat  classic  theatre.  But 
why  imagine  all  this  ?  It  is  to  be  a  reality,  and  not  a 
vision — not  an  actor's  dream  of  home,  to  be  dispelled 
by  the  morning's  dawn,  but  a  realized  Utopia — a  place 
where  the  aged  actor  can  lie  down  "  in  green  pastures," 
and  wander  "  beside  the  still  waters  " — one  sweet  spot, 
where  the  tired  mind  may  rest  and  call  it  HOME. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

EDWIN  FORREST'S  POLITICS.  —  DEMOCRATIC.  —  FOURTH 
OF  JULY  SPEECH. A  PAGE  FROM  JOHN  W.  FORNEY'S 

BOOK. FORREST    A     HUMORIST. HE    IS     ONLY    AN 

ACTOR. HENRY  CLAY. ANECDOTE. 

~\ /TR.  FORREST  was  the  most  consistent  politician 
-L*J-  that  we  ever  met.  He  was  a  Democrat  of  that 
good  old  school  from  which  came  forth  the  champions 
of  right  in  the  great  battle  of  sustaining  our  govern 
ment  against  a  foreign  foe  ;  he  was  also  the  warm  friend 
of  that  great  man  whose  sword  flashed  over  the  battle 
field  in  1815,  and  drove  the  minions  of  monarchy  from 
our  shores  ;  that  man,  the  model  warrior  and  statesman 
was  GENERAL  ANDREW  JACKSON.  In  politics  he  was 
Mr.  Forrest's  tutor. 

Mr.  Forrest  had  been,  during  the  course  of  his  pub 
lic  career,  on  several  occasions,  invited  to  stand  as  a 
candidate  for  Congress,  but  all  such  proposals  he  had 
declined,  his  expressed  wish  being  that  he  should  be 
known  in  no  public  capacity  that  was  not  strictly  pro 
fessional.  In  1838,  in  compliance  with  a  request  made 
by  the  Democratic  Republican  Committee  of  New  York, 
he  delivered  a  Fourth  of  July  oration,  remarkable  for 
the  purity  and  force  of  its  diction,  and  the  originality 
and  patriotism  of  its  sentiments.  One  paragraph  from 
this  oration  defines  the  speaker's  political  views  so  well, 

(302) 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  303 

and  expresses  so  much  of  his  character,  that  we  reprint 
it.  "  To  Jefferson  belongs  exclusively  and  forever  the 
high  renown  of  having  framed  the  glorious  charter  of 
American  liberty.  To  his  memory  the  benedictions  of 
this  and  all  succeeding  times  are  due  for  reducing  the 
theory  of  freedom  to  its  simplest  elements,  and  in  a  few 
lucid  and  unanswerable  propositions  establishing  a 
groundwork  on  which  men  may  securely  raise  a  lasting 
superstructure  of  national  greatness  and  prosperity. 
But  our  fathers,  in  the  august  assemblage  of  '76,  were 
prompt  to  acknowledge  and  adopt  the  solemn  and  mo 
mentous  principles  he  asserted.  With  scarce  an  alter 
ation — with  none  that  affected  the  spirit  and  character 
of  the  instrument,  and  with  but  few  that  changed  in  the 
slightest  degree  its  verbal  construction — they  published 
that  exposition  of  human  rights  to  the  world  as  their 
Declaration  of  American  Independence,  pledging  to  each 
other  their  lives,  their  fortunes,  and  their  sacred  honor 
in  support  of  the  tenets  it  proclaimed.  This  was  the 
grandest,  the  most  important  experiment  ever  under 
taken  in  the  history  of  man.  But  they  that  entered 
upon  it  were  not  afraid  of  new  experiments,  if  founded 
on  the  immutable  principles  of  right,  and  approved  by 
the  sober  conviction  of  reason.  There  were  not  want 
ing  then — indeed,  there  are  not  wanting  now — pale  coun 
sellors  to  fear,  who  would  have  withheld  them  from  the 
course  they  were  pursuing,  because  it  tended  in  a  direc 
tion  hitherto  untried.  But  they  were  not  to  be  deterred 
by  the  shadowy  doubts  and  timid  suggestions  of  craven 
spirits,  content  to  be  lashed  forever  round  the  same 
circle  of  miserable  expedients,  perpetually  trying  anew 
the  exploded  shifts  which  had  always  proved  lament 
ably  inadequate  before.  To  such  men  the  very  name 


304  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORKEST. 

of  experiment  is  a  sound  of  horror.  It  is  a  spell  which 
conjures  up  gorgons,  hydras,  and  chimeras  dire.  They 
seem  to  know  that  all  that  is  valuable  in  life — that  the 
acquisitions  of  learning,  the  discoveries  of  science,  and 
the  refinement  of  art — are  the  result  of  experiment.  It 
was  experiment  that  bestowed  on  Cadmus  those  keys  of 
knowledge  with  which  we  unlock  the  treasure  houses 
of  immortal  mind.  It  was  experiment  that  taught 
Bacon  the  futility  of  the  Grecian  philosophy,  and  led 
him  to  that  heaven-scaling  method  of  investigation  and 
analysis  on  which  science  has  safely  climbed  to  the 
proud  eminence  where  she  now  sits  dispensing  her 
blessings  on  mankind.  It  was  experiment  that  lifted 
Newton  above  the  clouds  and  darkness  of  this  visible 
diurnal  sphere,  enabling  him  to  explore  the  sublime 
mechanism  of  the  stars,  and  weigh  the  planets  in  their 
eternal  rounds.  It  was  experiment  that  nerved  the 
hand  of  Franklin  to  snatch  the  thunder  from  the 
armory  of  heaven.  It  was  experiment  that  gave  this 
hemisphere  to  the  world.  It  was  experiment  that  gave 
this  continent  freedom. 

&#####          o          # 

"Where  does  the  sun,  in  all  his  compass,  shed  his 
beams  on  a  country  freer,  better,  happier  than  this  ? 
Where  does  he  behold  more  diffuse  prosperity — more 
active  industry — more  social  harmony — more  abiding 
faith,  hope  and  charity?  Where  are  the  foundations 
of  private  right  more  stable,  or  the  limits  of  public 
order  more  inviolately  observed  ?  Where  does  labor 
go  to  the  toil  with  a  step  more  alert,  or  a  more  erect 
brow,  effulgent  with  the  heart-reflected  light  of  con 
scious  independence? 

"Where  does  Agriculture  drive  his   team  a-field 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  3Q5 

with  a  more  cheery  spirit  in  the  certain  assurance  that 
the  harvest  is  his  own  ?  Where  does  commerce  launch 
more  boldly  her  bark  upon  the  deep,  aware  that  she 
has  to  strive  but  with  the  tyranny  of  man  ? 

"  But  above  all,  let  us  be  careful  by  no  political  in 
terference  with  the  pursuits  of  industry  and  improve 
ment,  to  violate  that  grand  maxim  of  equality,  on 
which,  as  on  a  corner  stone,  the  fabric  of  democratic 
freedom  rests.  That  we  should  frown  indignantly 
on  the  first  motion  of  an  attempt  to  sunder  one  portion 
of  the  Union  from  another,  was  the  parting  admoni 
tion  of  Washington ;  but  with  deeper  solicitude,  and 
more  sedulous  and  constant  care,  should  we  guard 
against  a  blow  being  aimed,  no  matter  how  light,  or 
by  what  specious  pretext  defended,  against  that  great 
elementary  principle  of  liberty,  which,  once  shaken, 
the  whole  structure  will  topple  to  the  ground." 

Mr.  Forrest's  address  bears  all  those  strong  evi 
dences  of  mental  culture  which  so  distinguished  his 
speeches  in  after  years.  There  is  a  Shakesperian  style 
about  them  which  at  once  would  tell  a  stranger  this 
man  is  a  student  of  the  immortal  bard's  vast  con 
ceptions.  His  works  were  the  text  of  the  orator — this 
man  must  be  an  actor.  A  writer,  speaking  of  one 
of  Mr.  Forrest's  speeches,  made  on  the  occasion  of  a 
complimentary  dinner  tendered  him,  said  :  "  Although 
protesting  he  was  no  actor  here  (at  the  festive  board), 
yet  he  never  acted  so  well  in  his  life  as  during  this 
reply  to  the  compliments  profusely  showered  upon 
him." 

The  writer  of  this  knew  not  the  difference  between 
Nature  and  Art — what  was  natural  here,  he  attributed 
to  the  latter. 
19 


306  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORREST. 

"  This  man  must  be  an  actor/7  was  applied  to  Mr. 
Forrest  simply  because  he  spoke  well  and  was  an 
orator,  and  yet  why  is  not  an  actor  eligible  to  the  highest 
offices  in  the  gift  of  a  free  people  ?  Is  the  profession 
of  such  a  character  as  this  to  debar  a  man  of  culture, 
intelligence,  honor  and  probity,  as  capable  as  a  petty 
lawyer,  or  a  corrupt  precinct  politician  ?  So  far  from 
any  absurd  stigma  being  attached  to  the  profession, 
when  ^Eschyles  wrote  his  Sophocles  and  Euripides  wrote 
for  the  stage,  no  one  could  become  a  member  of  a  com 
pany  who  had  been  dishonored  by  any  offence  com 
mitted  against  the  laws.  Enjoying  all  the  privileges 
of  a  free  citizen,  an  actor  might  aspire  to  the  most 
honorable  employment  of  the  State.  Some  actors  pos 
sessed  great  influence  in  the  public  assemblies.  A 
celebrated  performer,  named  Aristodemus,  was  sent  on 
an  embassy  to  Philip,  King  of  Macedon;  and  ./Eschyles, 
Sophocles  and  Aristophanes,  like  Shakespeare,  held  it 
no  degradation  to  act  a  part  in  the  pieces  they  had 
composed.  It  is  well  known  to  the  learned  at  what 
expense  the  Athenians  supported  their  theatres,  and 
how  often  from  among  their  poets  and  actors  they 
chose  governors  of  their  provinces,  generals  of  their 
armies,  and  guardians  of  their  liberties. 

We  have  said  that  Mr.  Forrest  was  the  most  con 
sistent  politician  that  we  ever  met  with  ;  perhaps  we 
should  have  said  the  most  consistent  in  politics.  The 
last  time  Mr.  Forrest  voted,  was  at  the  October  election, 
1872,  and  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  scratched  his 
ticket !  This  was  for  the  purpose  of  casting  his  vote 
for  Gen.  H.  H.  Bingham  for  Clerk  of  the  Court  of 
Quarter  Sessions.  "I  vote  for  him,"  said  he,  "be 
cause  I  like  the  man  from  the  opinion  you  have  ex- 


LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FOKREST.  3Q7 

pressed  of  him,  and  as  your  friend,  for  every  friend  of 
yours  I  consider  mine/'  This  we  considered  one  of 
the  highest  compliments  Mr.  Forrest  ever  paid  us. 

Gen.  Bingham  and  Mr.  Forrest  were  to  have  met, 
but  the  excitement  of  the  election,  and  the  former  just 
entering  upon  the  duties  of  his  new  office,  delayed  the 
interview  ;  in  the  meantime  death  entered  the  mansion 
of  the  great  tragedian,  and  shut  out  visitors  forever. 

There  was  another  gentleman  whose  character  Mr. 
Forrest  much  admired,  and  with  whom  he  was  not 
personally  acquainted  ;  this  was  M.  Hall  Stanton,  Esq. 
"  When  I  return  from  Boston,"  said  he  one  day  to 
us,  "I  want  you  to  make  an  arrangement  with  Mr. 
Stanton  to  dine  with  me.  He  is  a  man  whose  ac 
quaintance  I  very  much  desire/'  The  very  week  the 
noble  actor  died  was  the  one  selected  for  this  inter 
view.  Had  they  met,  the  fortunes  of  the  ivriter  of  these 
"Reminiscences"  would  have  been  materially  changed. 

Well  has  it  been  said  by  an  old  writer :  "  Which 
of  us  setting  out  upon  a  visit,  a  diversion  or  an  affair 
of  business,  apprehends  a  possibility  of  not  arriving  at 
the  place  of  destination,  yet  at  the  same  time  does  riot 
apprehend  himself  at  liberty  to  alter  his  course  in  any 
part  of  his  progress  ?  There  is  a  certain  destiny  of 
everything." 

Colonel  John  W.  Forney  relates  the  following  inci 
dent  in  his  "Anecdotes  of  Public  Men."  Perhaps  I 
cannot  better  terminate  this  desultory  anecdote  than  by 
giving  you  the  following  copy  of  an  autograph  letter 
now  before  me,  written  by  Edwin  Forrest,  in  1856, 
when  he  sent  a  subscription  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  Democratic  Committee 
of  Pennsylvania,  to  help  defraying  the  expenses  of 


308  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEREST. 

electing  James  Buchanan.  It  is  very  carefully  com 
posed,  and  indicates  the  business  exactitude  which 
marked  him  throughout  life : 

"BOSTON,  November  29th,  1856. 

"MY  DEAR  SIR: — You  must  excuse  me  for  not  reply 
ing  sooner  to  your  letter  of  the  21st.  instant,  but  unusual 
press  of  business,  and  other  matters,  prevented  me  from 
doing  so  at  an  earlier  period. 

"  I  herein  enclose  you  a  check  for  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars,  which  you  will  apply  to  the  liquidation  of  the  debt 
incurred  by  the  Democratic  Committee  during  the  late 
political  canvass. 

"  Truly  yours,  "Eowi^  FORREST." 

Shortly  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Forrest,  Colonel 
John  W.  Forney  published  a  few  anecdotes  and  remi 
niscences  of  his  friend.  In  one  article  he  said : 

"  He  has  generally  voted  the  Democratic  ticket  in  his 
ward,  and  contributed  largely  to  Mr.  Buchanan's  election 
in  1856.  An  autograph  letter,  containing  a  subscription  of 
$250  to  that  campaign,  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Ferdi 
nand  J.  Dreer,  enrolled  among  his  treasures,  and  also  ac 
companied  by  a  comical  verse,  which  is  pinned  upon  the 
letter,  evidently  cut  by  him  from  some  country  newspaper. 
But  no  one  can  doubt  where  he  has  always  stood  who  will 
read  his  will,  especially  that  part  of  it  in  which  he  com 
mands  the  reading  of  the  unexpurgated  edition  of  the  Dec 
laration  of  Independence  on  every  Fourth  of  July.  Twenty 
years  ago  Mr.  Forrest  summoned  his  neighbors,  when  he 
lived  at  Font  Hill,  N.  Y.,  on  the  Hudson,  and  gave  them 
a  handsome  collation,  after  which  he  read  this  very  Declara 
tion,  himself,  from  a  platform  which  he  had  erected.  The 
company  was  most  distinguished,  and  the  event  will  still  be 
recalled  by  the  survivors.  Still  another  additional  proof 
of  his  patriotism  may  be  stated.  On  the  24th  of  July, 
1862,  at  the  great  war  meeting,  the  largest  meeting  ever 
held  in  Independence  Square,  Mr.  Forrest  sent  a  check 
for  one  thousand  dollars,  which  the  editor  of  this  paper  had 
the  honor  of  presenting." 

We  annex  the  "  comical  verse/'     Mr.  Forrest  had  a 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  3Q9 

natural  penchant  for  every  thing  humorous,  and  his 
clippings  from  newspapers,  and  extracts  from  periodi 
cals  of  this  character,  would  make  a  volume  far  more 
interesting  than  that  of  Joe  Miller's.  Mr.  Forrest, 
himself  a  humorist,  appreciated  it  in  others : 

"  When  Fremont  raised  a  flag  so  high 

.On  Rocky  Mountain's  peak, 
One  little  busy  bee  did  fly 

And  light  upon  his  cheek  ; 
But  when  November's  ides  arrive 

To  greet  the  Colonel's  sight, 
Straight  from  the  Democratic  hive 

Two  B's  will  on  him  light." 

"  He  was  but  an  actor ! "  How  often  this  sentence 
has  been  uttered  as  a  slur ;  as  if  an  actor  was  incapable 
of  being  anything  else.  Actors  were  honored  in  Rome. 
The  great  Brutus  thought  his  time  not  mis-employed 
in  a  journey  from  Rome  to  Naples,  only  to  see  an  excel 
lent  troupe  of  comedians ;  and  was  so  pleased  with 
their  performance,  that  he  sent  them  to  Rome,  with 
letters  of  introduction  to  Cicero,  to  take  them  under 
his  patronage ; — this,  too,  was  at  a  time  when  the  city 
was  under  no  small  confusion  from  the  murder  of  Csesar. 
Yet  amidst  the  tumults  of  those  times,  and  the  hurry 
of  his  own  affairs,  he  thought  having  a  good  com 
pany  of  actors  of  too  much  consequence  to  the  public 
to  be  neglected.  And  in  such  estimation  was  Roscius 
held  by  the  public  men  of  the  day,  that  in  public 
debates  his  name  was  mentioned  in  the  most  honorable 
manner. 

If  the  great  actors  of  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth 
centuries,  whose  names  now  adorn  the  dramatic  pages 
of  stage  literature,  had  turned  their  attention  to  other 
pursuits,  they  might  have  reached  the  highest  honors 


310  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

bestowed  on  men  of  genius  and  enterprise.  Talma, 
G-arrick,  Kemble,  Cooke,  Cooper,  Kean,  Macready, 
Forrest,  and  others,  would  not  have  had  the  sarcastic 
phrase  applied  to  them,  "He  is  only  an  actor!"  had 
they  entered  the  list  to  contend  with  the  political  ele 
ment,  and  battle  for  high  reward,  they  would  have 
gained  it.  This  they  did  not  .do,  hence  they  lived  and 
died — only  actors ! 

John  W.  Forney,  in  his  "Anecdotes  of  Public  Men/' 
relates  the  following  incident,  which  goes  to  show  that 
our  own  great  men  understood  the  profession  of  an  ac 
tor.  In  the  year  1844,  when  Henry  Clay  visited  Phil 
adelphia,  Mr.  Forney,  John  Swift,  arid  Edwin  Forrest 
called  upon  him  at  the  American  House,  on  Chestnut 
Street ;  we  will  let  Mr.  Forney  speak  : 

"  He  looked  feeble  and  worn — he  was  then  over  seventy 
years  old — but  he  soon  brightened.  Anxious  to  rouse  him, 
I  quietly  ventured  to  suggest  that  I  heard  the  speech  of 
Pierre  Soule,  Senator  in  Congress  from  Louisiana — an  ex 
tremist  especially  distasteful  to  Mr.  Clay — and  I  thought 
it  a  very  thorough  and  able  presentation  of  the  side  adverse 
to  the  compromise  measures.  I  saw  the  old  man's  eye 
flash  as  I  spoke ;  and  was  not  surprised  when,  with  much 
vehemence,  he  proceeded  to  denounce  Soule.  After  deny 
ing  that  he  was  a  Statesman,  and  insisting  that  there  were 
others  far  more  effective  in  the  opposition,  he  wound  up  by 
saying :  '  He  is  nothing  but  an  actor,  sir ;  a  mere  actor.' 
Then  suddenly  recollecting  the  presence  of  our  favorite 
tragedian,  he  dropped  his  tone,  and  waved  his  hand,  as  he 
turned  to  Forrest — '  I  mean,  my  dear  sir,  a  mere  French 
actor.'  We  soon  after  took  our  leave  ;  and,  as  we  descended 
the  stairs,  Forrest  turned  to  Swift  and  myself,  and  said, 
'Mr.  Clay  has  proved,  by  his  skill  with  which  he  can  change 
his  manner,  and  the  grace  with  which  he  can  make  an 
apology,  that  he  is  a  better  actor  than  Soule.'" 

How  true  it  is  said  by  the  immortal  bard  : — 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  3H 


"  All  the  world's  a  stage, 
And  all  men  and  women  merely  players ; 
They  have  their  exits  and  their  entrances  ; 
And  one  man  in  his  time  plays  many  parts." 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

STATE     OF     THE     DRAMA.  -  AMERICAN     ACTORS.  -  A     RE 
VIEW  OF  THE  CAUSE  OF  THE  ASTOR  PLACE    RIOTS.  - 

MACREADY'S   FitfST  AND   SECOND   MOVE.  —  THE  AP 
PROACHING  STORM.  —  LAWYER'S  ADVICE. 


state  of  the  drama  in  the  year  1849  was  much 
-*-  better  than  it  had  been  for  many  years  previous. 
This,  in  a  great  measure,  was  owing  to  the  re-appear 
ance  of  Mr.  Forrest  and  Mr.  Macready,  and  the  charac 
ter  of  the  pieces  in  which  they  appeared.  The  public 
taste  for  what  was  then,  and  now,  called  sensational 
pieces,  was  gradually  dying  out  ;  and  the  production 
of  legitimate  plays  gave  goodly  evidence  of  a  better 
state  of  things  in  the  "  Mimic  World."  The  word  le 
gitimate  we  have  often  thought  very  appropriate  to 
stage  plays.  It  would  be  very  difficult,  however,  for 
us  to  fix  upon  any  one  period  in  dramatic  history, 
which  would  apply  the  word  to  the  stage,  simply  be 
cause,  what  we  term  legitimate,  is  in  direct  opposition 
to  a  modern  style  of  drama  now  in  vogue  ;  dramas  so 
called,  and  which  are  a  disgrace  to  our  stage  and  its 
literature.  As  we  are  unable  to  fix  upon  any  particu 
lar  period  in  stage  history,  from  which  we  can  date 
what  is  called  the  legitimate,  we  must  necessarily  select 


312  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

out  those  eras  in  which  good  plays  were  performed ; 
and  probably  no  other  than  that  of  the  Elizabethan 
age  can  be  named.  Indeed,  you  cannot  go  back  be 
yond  this  period  to  find  in  a  class  of  plays  anything  to 
carry  out  the  word  legitimate,  which  literally  means, 
an  appreciation  of  all  that  is  beautiful  in  art,  legal  and 
lawful,  in  construction  and  in  direct  contradistinction  to 
whatever  is  spurious,  low  or  immoral.  Shakespeare's 
plays  come  directly  under  the  head  of  legitimate,  not 
in  the  sense  in  which  the  word  is  used  now ;  but  from 
the  fact  that  there  were  no  plays  at  that  period  other 
than  that  class.  In  ancient  Greece,  it  is  true,  they 
had  what  is  called  the  "  Classic  Drama."  The  ele 
ments  of  the  Grecian  drama  are  to  be  sought  in  an  age 
antecedent  to  all  historic  record.  Mythical  legends 
and  episodic  narrations  of  the  virtues  and  achievements 
of  those  gods  with  which  that  age  teemed,  and  filled 
every  stream  with  Naiads,  woods  with  Dryads,  and  the 
mountains  with  the  Oreads  and  the  Graces,  were  the 
first  principles  of  representing  life  by  action.  Wild 
and  poetical  as  these  productions  were,  they  certainly 
possessed  better  elements  of  dramatic  morale  than  that 
of  the  Songs  of  Bacchus,  amid  the  drunken  revels  of 
the  wine  growers,  and  from  which  sprang  the  first 
germs  of  tragedy. 

It  was  long  subsequent  to  the  age  of  Shakespeare 
that  the  word  legitimate  was  used  to  distinguish  good 
plays  from  the  bad;  or  rather  we  should  say,  from  the 
low  and  vulgar  class  of  dramatic  productions.  In  our 
day  the  legitimate  drama  means  the  good  old  stand 
ard  plays  of  the  English  school,  as  well  as  those  of  our 
own;  and  in  this  age  of  sensational  trash,  unrefined, 
low,  vulgar,  and  immoral,  the  word  legitimate  is  a 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  313 

distinguishing  mark,  that   should  be   recognized  and 
respected. 

In  speaking  of  the  drama,  with  reference  to  its  mor 
al  influences,  we  lay  down  the  principle  that  the  spirit 
of  the  legitimate  drama  is  favorable  to  human  improve 
ment,  and  the  stage  under  its  auspices,  could  be  made 

"  The  mirror  of  a  nation's  virtue, 
And  the  enlightened  and  polished  school  of  a  free  people." 

We  have  no  disposition  to  conceal  the  fact  that  it 
has  sometimes  been  abused  for  unworthy  purposes ; 
still  less  are  we  disposed  to  extenuate  those  abuses ; 
though  its  history  discloses  the  remarkable  truth,  that 
where  it  has  conducted,  and  not  followed  the  spirit  of 
the  age,  it  has  uniformly  been  a  school  of  virtue  and 
refinement.  It  did  not  stamp  the  licentious  character 
of  Charles  the  Second's  reign ;  it  rather  received  and 
gave  again  the  very  body  and  pressure  of  the  times. 
The  drama  should  be  regarded  as  a  great  instrument 
for  the  accomplishment  of  great  ends.  The  nature  of 
those  ends  will  depend  upon  the  character  of  those  who 
employ  the  instrument.  That  it  has  at  times  been 
converted  to  an  improper  use,  will  not  be  denied.  But 
is  the  candid  mind  prepared,  from  partial  and  tempo 
rary  effects,  to  infer  that  the  cause  should  be  denounced 
and  rejected  forever?  It  is  not  upon  reasoning  like 
this  that  the  convictions  of  mankind  are  usually  based. 
Philosophy  has  been  contaminated,  and  her  fruits  have 
been  evil.  Eloquence  has  been  made  to  serve  the 
cause  of  the  demagogue,  and  has  stood  in  ranks  op 
posed  to  patriotism.  Even  the  simplicity  and  purity 
of  our  holy  religion  have  been  made  subservient  to  the 
ambition  of  unprincipled  men.  But  where  is  he  who 


314  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FOEEEST. 

will  cast  a  shade  upon  the  integrity  of  philosophy  her 
self  ?  Who  will  unhesitatingly  pronounce  eloquence  a 
curse  ?  And  is  the  spirit  of  true  religion  less  beauti 
ful  and  less  divine,  because  its  principles  have  some 
times  been  perverted  or  misapprehended  ?  The  legiti 
mate  purpose  of  the  drama  is  to  improve,  not  to  cor 
rupt  our  virtuous  sensibilities  ;  but  like  every  other  hu 
man  institution,  it  is  imperfect.  Its  object  has  been 
sometimes  misapprehended,  and  abuses  have  been  the 
consequence.  Yet  "more  in  sorrow  than  in  anger  "  do 
we  deprecate  that  disingenuous  spirit,  which  pronounces 
upon  the  uncorrupted  drama  those  judgments  which 
should  be  passed  only  upon  its  abuses.  Let  these  be 
arraigned  and  condemned;  justice,  and  that  charity 
"  which  rejoiceth  in  the  truth/'  command  that  rebuke 
extend  no  further. 

"  Thus  many  plays,"  says  a  learned  divine,  "  instead 
of  ennobling  the  soul  with  generous  sentiments,  sully 
the  imagination  by  describing  lust  with  all  its  incen 
tives  and  allurements,  and  awakens  those  passions 
which  lay  dormant  before."  It  is  granted  that  good 
writers  make  the  deeper  impression,  when  they  make 
court  to  the  fancy,  by  bribing  it  with  agreeable  meta 
phors,  paintings,  and  lively  imagery.  The  same  writer, 
in  a  sermon  preached  on  "  The  Government  of  Thought," 
speaking  of  plays,  says  : — "  Some  of  them  are  rational 
and  manly  entertainments,  and  may  be  read  with  im 
provement  as  well  as  delight.  As  to  the  rest,  I  would 
offer  to  the  consideration  of  virtuous  persons,  whether 
it  be  consistent  with  their  character,  as  such,  to  read  in 
the  closet,  or  hear  on  the  stage,  such  lewd  and  im 
modest  sentiments  as  it  would  not  be  consistent  to 
hear  in  private  conversation  ?  " — "Seed's  Sermons,"  IX. 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FOKBEST.  315 

This  character  of  plays  has  kept  back  many  talent 
ed  artists  and  writers,  and  thus  materially  injured  the 
legitimate,  by  leaving  the  stage  to  mediocre  actors  and 
authors.  The  stage  was  never  intended  to  be  made 
the  arena  for  the  display  of  licentiousness,  indecency 
and  vulgarity  ;  its  object  was  to  ennoble  the  mind  by 
bringing  forth  the  mental  stores  of  gifted  men,  and 
place  before  an  audience  gems  of  bright  thoughts, 
clothed  with  poetic  beauty,  instead  of  those  vile  abor 
tions  emanating  from  diseased  imaginations.  Plato, 
whose  words  of  wisdom  are  as  apples  of  gold,  says, 
"  that  if  men  could  behold  virtue,  she  could  make  all 
of  them  in  love  with  her  charms,"  and  adds,  "  a  right 
play  draws  her  picture  in  the  most  lively  manner." 

The  minds  of  our  youth  have  become  corrupted; 
the  Canaille's  of  the  French  stage  have  filled  our  streets 
with  wantons ;  the  Jack  Sheppard's  of  the  English 
school  furnished  its  victims  for  the  House  of  Refuge 
and  the  Penitentiary. 

To  Thomas  Althorpe  Cooper,  William  B.  Wood, 
William  A.  Conway,  William  Warren,  Joseph  Jeffer 
son,  J.  W.  Wallack,  Junius  Brutus  Booth,  Edwin  For 
rest,  and  his  imitators,  is  the  American  stage  in 
debted  for  all  the  good  we  have  derived  from  exhibi 
tions,  and  the  effect  they  had  upon  the  moral  and  in 
telligent.  In  no  instance  did  they  ever  step  from  the 
sublime  productions  of  gifted  minds  to  the  ridiculous 
sensational  trash  of  the  day. 

We  now  approach  one  of  the  most  important  events 
that  ever  occurred  in  the  history  of  our  stage.  It  finds 
no  parallel  in  that  of  any  other.  We  head  this  sad 
portion  of  our  Reminiscences  : 


316  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

AN  IMPARTIAL  REVIEW 

OF   THE 

LAMENTABLE  OCCURRENCES 

AT   THE 

ASTOR  PLACE  OPERA  HOUSE, 
On  tlie  10t?i  of  May,  1849. 

In  another  part  of  these  Reminiscences  we  gave  the 
cause  of  the  original  quarrel  between  Mr.  Forrest  and 
Mr.  Macready.  We  have  shown  conclusively  that  it 
originated  in  feelings  of  professional  jealousy  on  the 
part  of  the  latter,  who  insidiously  strove  to  have  the 
former  driven  from  the  British  stage.  It  is  also  said 
that  this  natural  jealousy  was  still  further  aggravated  by 
Mr.  Forrest's  domestic  relations.  As  an  Englishwoman, 
his  wife  was  still  mindful  of  her  having  been  born  on 
the  same  soil  with  Mr.  Macready,  and  it  is  a  proverbial 
fact  that  no  nation  upon  earth  clings  so  obstinately  to 
their  native  prejudices  as  the  English.  A  writer  says  : 
"If  we  may  believe  rumor,  Mrs.  Forrest  on  many 
occasions  allowed  her  prejudices  to  interfere  with  the 
most  serious  duty  of  a  wife  to  sympathize  with  and 
uphold  her  husband/' 

It  will  be  remembered  that  on  Mr.  Forrest's  former 
visit  to  England,  he  was  not  only  well  received,  but 
the  press,  with  but  one  or  two  exceptions,  was  en 
thusiastic  in  his  praise.  All  this  to  Macready  was  gall 
and  wormwood;  and  in  consultation  with  his  friends 
—  and  more  particularly  John  Forster — a  plan  was 
adopted  to  crush  his  successful  rival — with  what  suc 
cess  we  have  already  detailed.  Mr.  Forrest,  on  English 
ground,  resented  the  insults  oifered  him,  and  openly 
accused  Macready  of  being  the  instigator  of  them. 
The  hissing  of  Macready  at  Edinburg,  although  not 
endorsed  by  us  at  the  time,  was  the  climax  to  the 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  317 

emeute  between  these  two  popular  tragedians.  The 
quarrel  between  them  had  now  assumed  something  of 
a  national  character,  and  when  Macready's  visit  to  this 
country  was  announced,  there  was  a  low  murmuring 
sound  heard  throughout  the  land  of  an  approaching 
storm ;  and  had  the  great  English  tragedian  kept  his 
tongue  still  about  their  quarrel  in  England  when  he 
was  called  before  the  curtain,  we  question  if  the  storm 
would  have  burst  and  caused  so  serious  a  calamity  as 
that  of  the  Astor  Place  Opera  House  Kiot,  on  the  10th 
of  May,  1849. 

Mr.  Macready,  after  an  absence  of  three  years,  re 
appeared  at  the  Astor  Place  Opera  House,  then  under 
the  management  of  Chippendale  &  Sefton ;  Lessee, 
William  Niblo.  The  play  was  announced — Mr.  Ma 
cready's  first  appearance,  on  Monday,  September  4th, 
1848,  as  Macbeth,  supported  by  Mr.  Kyder,  as  Mac- 
duff,  and  Mrs.  G.  Jones  as  Lady  Macbeth.  This  en 
gagement  closed  on  the  25th,  when  he  appeared  in  the 
Merchant  of  Venice.  This  engagement,  unmolested, 
was  a  brilliant  one. 

The  Park  Theatre  was  under  the  management  of 
Mr.  Simpson,  being  the  last  season  of  that  highly  es 
teemed  gentleman  and  actor.  It  opened  on  the  4th  of 
August,  1847.  On  the  31st  of  August,  Mr.  Forrest 
commenced  an  engagement  as  King  Lear,  but  his 
triumphant  career  was  interrupted  by  an  attack  of 
hoarseness,  so  severe,  that  it  compelled  him  to  with 
draw  for  several  nights. 

He  did  not  perform  again  until  October  27th,  when 
he  opened  in  Metamora,  and  on  the  28th  as  Spartacus, 
being  his  last  appearance  on  the  Park  boards. 

Mr.  Macready,  after  playing  an  engagement  at  Bal 
timore,  Philadelphia.  JBostor»  nnd  other  citio«  nnrl  VP_ 


318  LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FOEBEST. 

ceiving  a  public  dinner  in  New  Orleans,  arrived  in  New 
York  on  Friday,  April  27th,  1849,  and  almost  imme 
diately  made  an  engagement  with  the  lessees  of  the 
Astor  Place  Opera  House  (Messrs.  William  Niblo  and 
James  H.  Hackett),  for  four  weeks,  commencing  on 
Monday,  May  7th.  This  was  announced  some  days 
previous,  in  the  following  card,  in  the  city  papers : 

"  Astor  Place  Opera  House,  Monday,  May  7th,  1849. 
First  night  of  Mr.  Macready's  farewell  engagement  will  be 
presented  Shakespeare's  Tragedy  of  Macbeth.  Macbeth, 
Mr.  Macready." 

In  the  meantime  Mr.  Forrest  had  been  playing 
a  splendid  engagement  at  the  Broadway  Theatre, 
opening  there  on  the  28th  of  August,  1848,  as  Othello. 
During  this  engagement,  which  lasted  until  the  22nd 
of  September,  he  appeared  in  Virginius,  Richelieu, 
and  Damon.  On  the  23rd  of  April,  1849,  he  com 
menced  a  three  weeks'  engagement.  The  houses  were 
crowded,  and  his  reception,  on  every  occasion,  was  an 
ovation  to  his  genius,  and  a  tribute  to  his  merit  as 
an  actor  and  an  American  gentleman.  This  engage 
ment,  beginning  with  that  of  Macready's,  naturally  ex 
cited  the  public  mind.  Discussion  and  dispute  ran 
high  between  the  friends  of  the  two  rival  tragedians. 
Not  only  the  journals  which  usually  devote  a  large  por 
tion  of  their  columns  to  the  drama,  but  even  the  com 
mercial  papers,  took  up  the  theme,  and  tended  to  fan 
the  flame  of  discord  to  a  burning  point.  There  was 
one  element  far  more  dangerous  to  the  English  actor 
than  that  of  the  one  controlled  by  the  press ;  it  was  an 
element  as  mysterious  in  its  origin,  as  it  proved  to  be 
fearful  when  aroused.  It  was  a  human  motive-power 
propelled  into  action  by  surrounding  circumstances, 
composed  in  part  of  American  prejudices  and  national 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FOEEEST.  319 

associations  connected  with  certain  events  which  are 
patriotically  recorded  under  four  ominous  figures,  viz., 
"  1776."  Not  to  leave  our  readers  in  the  dark,  or 
continue  the  mystery,  this  element  was  the  Boys  of 
New  York,  known  then  and  up  to  the  present  by  a 
phrase  more  suitable  to  the  element  producing  them 
— "  The  B'hoys."  A  writer,  speaking  of  them,  says  : 
"To  those  abroad  it  may  be  necessary  to  state  that  the 
term  does  not  by  any  means  imply  extreme  youth.  On 
the  contrary,  the  class  to  which  it  is  applied,  consists, 
for  the  most  part,  of  those  who  have  already  attained 
the  years  of  manhood." 

MR.  MACREADY'S  FIRST  MOVE. 

On  the  4th  of  October,  1848,  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  performance,  being  called  before  the  curtain,  he  de 
livered  the  following  speech : 

"  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  : — It  is  not  my  custom  on 
such  occasions  as  the  present  to  address  an  audience,  bat  I 
am  moved  to  do  so  by  an  impulse  which  I  cannot  resist,  tind 
which  is  strengthened  by  the  judgment  just  pronounced 
by  a  gentleman  in  the  gallery  (referring  to  somebody  v/ho 
hud  hissed)  on  the  performance  of  the  evening.  I  /eel 
much  gratified  by  the  kind  reception  with  which  you  have 
honored  me,  and  I  value  it,  as  well  on  its  own  account  as 
because  on  my  arrival  in  your  country,  which,  believe  me, 
I  always  visit  with  pleasure.  Some  journals  in  New 
York  asserted  that  I  am  superannuated,  and  am  incapable 
of  presenting  the  impersonation  of  Shakesperian  character. 
Ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  appeal  to  your  judgment." 

MR.  MACREADY'S  SECOND  MOVE. 

On  the  night  of  the  25th  of  October,  1848,  in  an 
swer  to  the  call  of  the  audience,  he  delivered  a  speech  of 
some  length,  from  which  we  make  the  following  extract : 


320  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKBEST. 

"  But  I  have  a  motive  for  trespassing  further  on  your 
patience.  There  is  something  apart  from  this,  for  which 
I  would  thank  you.  It  cannot  be  disproved,  however  the 
failure  of  the  plan  may  be  quoted  in  denial  of4ts  existence, 
that  a  project  was  on  foot  to  excite  on  this,  my  farewell 
visit  to  the  American  stage,  a  hostile  feeling  against  me 
with  the  American  public.  Your  most  kind  and  flattering 
reception  of  me  has  baffled  the  intentions  of  my  unpro 
voked  antagonists,"  etc. 

The  imagination  of  Mr.  Macready,  excited  by  the 
recollection  of  the  wrong  he  did  Mr.  Forrest  in  Eng 
land,  conjured  up  this  hostile  faction.  The  reader 
will  remember  that  both  of  these  speeches  were  deliv 
ered  during  his  first  engagement  (during  the  perform 
ance  of  which  he  met  no  opposition  or  interference 
worthy  of  notice),  and  nearly  one  month  before  he  ap 
peared  in  Philadelphia.  The  last  speech,  so  uncalled 
for,  and  of  such  singular  character,  induced  the  pub 
lication  of  the  article  in  the  Boston  Mail,  on  the  30th 
of  October,  1848,  which  Mr.  Macready's  counsel  con 
sidered  sufficient  grounds  for  a  libel.  This  article  was 
headed:  "More  about  McReady — His  Abuse  of  Mr. 
Forrest  in  Europe — Endeavors  to  put  him  down  in 
Paris,  London  and  Edinburg  —  His  intrigue  with  Bul- 
wer  to  prevent  Forrest  Playing  in  Bulwer's  Plays — His 
Abuse  of  Americans,"  etc.,  etc. 

In  Chapter  XVIII.  of  these  Reminiscences,  we  gave 
an  account  of  Mr.  Forrest's  reception  in  England,  and 
the  part  Mr.  Macready  took  in  prQvokirig  the  quarrel. 
As  our  account  differs  very  little  from  that  of  the  Mail, 
we  need  not  repeat  it  here.  One  passage,  however,  we 
give,  as  it  shows,  in  connection  with  the  whole  article, 
how  Macready  provoked  an  emeute,  which  his  friends 
so  persistently  denied  :  "  Although  Macready  saw  fit 
on  his  opening  night  in  New  York,  on  being  called  out 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  321 

by  some  friends,  to  slur  a  c  certain  penny  paper '  that 
had  '  dared '  to  express  an  opinion  regarding  his  talents 
and  conduct,  we  shall  not,  hy  any  means,  give  him 
the  retort  churlish;  we  only  pity  his  ignorance  of  the 
institutions  of  this  country,  and  hope,  for  his  own 
credit's  sake,  that  he  will  not,  when  he  gets  home, 
write  a  hlack  book  about  American  manners,  etc.,  d  la 
Trollope,  and  others,"  etc. 

Immediately  after  the  publication  of  the  article  in 
the  Boston  Maily  Macready  committed  to  his  counsel, 
Messrs.  Reed  and  Meredith,  of  Philadelphia,  authority 
to  commence  such  legal  proceedings  as  they  might 
deem  advisable  ;  and  preparatory  thereto,  he  obtained 
from  England  certain  documentary  evidence  relative  to 
the  quarrel  between  him  and  Mr.  Forrest  in  England. 
All  this  was  a  mere  trick  of  the  actor  and  his  counsel ; 
no  suit  was  ever  begun,  nor  did  the  required  proofs 
arrive  from  England.  True,  one  or  two  letters  came — 
one  from  a  man  signing  himself  A.  Fonblanque,  an 
other  from  a  John  Mitchell,  and  one  intended  to  ter 
rify  Mr.  Forrest  and  his  friends  from  the  High  Sheriff 
of  Edinburg.  As  the  Persians  say,  it  was  all  BOSH  ! 

These  letters  were  all  directed  to  W.  C.  Macready, 
Esq.,  Philadelphia,  and  were  never  used  in  court,  but 
were  published  as  evidence  of  Mr.  Macready's  child 
like  innocence.  If  these  letters  told  anything  as  we 
read  them,  they  told  how  far  Mr.  Macready' s  English 
friends  could  falsify  truth  and  pervert  facts.  Reed 
and  Meredith  knew  this,  for  no  more  was  heard  of  the 
suit  at  court.  They  no  doubt  thought  with  Virgil, 
who  said  on  a  somewhat  similar  occasion : 

"  Non  nostrum  inter  vos  tantas  componere  lites." 
20 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

MACREADY'S  THIRD    MOVE. — FORREST'S    CARD. — MA 
CREADY'S  REPLY. — WILLIAM  B.  REED'S  LETTER. — 

DIGNIFIED  SILENCE. — THE  B^HOYS. MAY  ?TH,  1849. 

ASTOR      PLACE. FIRST     SYMPTOMS     OF     A   RIOT. 

— JOHN    BULL    DEFYING   BROTHER   JONATHAN. 

the  20th  of  November,  1848,  Mr.  Macready  ap- 
peared  at  the  Arch  Street  Theatre,  Philadelphia. 
It  was  then,  and  for  the  first  time,  that  an  unsuccessful 
attempt  was  made  to  drive  him  from  the  stage.  Upon 
his  being  called  before  the  curtain  he  addressed  the 
audience  as  follows : 

"  He  had  understood,  at  New  York  and  Boston,  that 
he  was  to  be  met  by  an  organized  opposition,  but  he  had 
abiding  confidence  in  the  justice  of  the  American  people." 
[Here  the  noise  and  confusion  completely  drowned  his 
voice,  and  three  cheers  were  attempted  for  Forrest,  and 
three  hearty  ones  were  given  for  Macready.]  He  resumed 
by  saying,  "  It  was  the  custom  in  his  country  never  to  con 
demn  a  man  unheard."  [Cheers  and  calls,  a  voice  crying 
out,  "  Did  you  allow  Forrest  to  be  heard  in  England  ? "] 
He  said,  "  I  never  entertained  hostile  feelings  towards  any 
actor  in  this  country,  and  have  never  evinced  a  feeling  of 
opposition  to  him.  The  actor  alluded  to  had  done  that 
towards  him,  what  he  was  sure  no  English  actor  would  do 
— he  had  openly  hissed  him."  [Great  noise  and  confusion, 
hisses  and  hurrahs.]  "  That  up  to  the  time  of  this  act  he 
had  never  entertained  towards  that  actor  a  feeling  of  un- 
kindness,  nor  had  he  ever  shown  any  since."  [Collision  in 
boxes  and  great  uproar  throughout  the  house.]  He  said, 

(322) 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  323 

"  That  lie  fully  appreciated  the  character  and  feelings  of 
the  audience,  and,  as  to  his  engagement,  if  it  was  their  will, 
he  was  willing  to  give  it  up  at  once;  [no,  no,  cheers  and 
hisses;]  but  that  he  should  retain  in  his  memory  the  live 
liest  recollection  of  the  warm  and  generous  sentiments  of 
regard  shown  him,  and  should  speak  of  the  American  peo 
ple,  whom  he  had  known  and  studied  for  the  past  twenty 
years,  with  the  same  kind  feelings  that  he  ever  had  done." 

This,  the  third  speech  delivered  by  Mr.  Macready, 
before  Mr.  Forrest  had  uttered  a  syllable,  called  forth 
from  the  latter  gentleman  this  scathing  card.  The 
editor  of  the  Pennsylvanian,  of  Nov.  22nd,  1848,  intro 
duced  it  thus:  "We  received  the  following  card  last 
evening.  It  is  a  reply  to  the  speech  of  Mr.  Macready, 
at  the  Arch  Street  Theatre,  on  Monday  evening : " 

A    CARD    FROM    EDWIN    FORREST. 

"  Mr.  Macready,  in  his  speech,  last  night,  to  the  au 
dience  assembled  at  the  Arch  Street  Theatre,  made  allu 
sion,  I  understand,  to  '  an  American  actor '  who  had  the 
temerity,  on  one  occasion,  '  openly  to  hiss  him.'  This  is 
true,  and,  by  the  way,  the  only  truth  which  I  have  been 
enabled  to  gather  from  the  whole  scope  of  his  address. 
But  why  say  '  an  American  actor  ? '  Why  not  openly 
charge  me  with  the  act  ?  for  I  did  it,  and  publicly  avowed 
it  in  the  Times  newspaper  of  London,  and  at  the  same  time 
asserted  my  right  to  do  so. 

"  On  the  occasion  alluded  to,  Mr.  Macready  introduced 
a  fancy  dance  into  his  performance  of  Hamlet,  which  I 
designated  as  a  pas  de  mouchoir,  and  which  I  hissed,  for  I 
thought  it  a  desecration  of  the  scene,  and  the  audience 
thought  so  too,  for  in  a  few  nights  afterwards,  when  Mr. 
Macready  repeated  the  part  of  Hamlet  with  the  same  tom 
foolery,  the  intelligent  audience  of  Ediiiburg  greeted  it 
with  a  universal  hiss. 

"  Mr.  Macready  is  stated  to  have  said  last  night,  that 
up  to  the  time  of  this  act  on  my  part,  he  had  '  never  enter 
tained  towards  me  a  feeling  of  unkindness.'  I  unhesi 
tatingly  pronounce  this  to  be  a  wilful  and  unblushing  false 
hood.  I  most  solemnly  aver  and  do  believe  that  Mr. 


324  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

Macready,  instigated  by  his  narrow,  envious  mind,  and  his 
selfish  fears,  did  secretly — not  openly — suborn  several  wri 
ters  for  the  English  press  to  write  me  down.  Among 
them  was  one  Forster,  a  '  toady '  of  the  eminent  tragedian 
— one  who  is  ever  ready  to  do  his  dirty  work ;  and  this 
Forster,  at  the  bidding  of  his  patron,  attacked  me  in  print 
even  before  I  appeared  on  the  London  boards,  and  con 
tinued  his  abuse  of  me  at  every  opportunity  afterwards. 

"  I  assert  also,  and  solemnly  believe  that  Mr.  Macready 
connived  when  his  friends  went  to  the  theatre  in  London 
to  hiss  me,  and  did  hiss  me  with  the  purpose  of  driving  me 
from  the  stage — and  all  this  happened  many  months  before 
the  affair  at  Edinburg,  to  which  Mr.  Macready  refers,  and 
in  relation  to  which  he  jesuitically  remarks  that  'until  that 
act  he  never  entertained  towards  me  a  feeling  of  unkind- 
ness.'  Pah!  Mr.  Macready  has  no  feeling  of  kindness 
for  any  actor  who  is  likely,  by  his  talent,  to  stand  in 
his  way.  His  whole  course  as  manager  and  actor  proves 
this — there  is  nothing  in  him  but  self — self — self — and  his 
own  countrymen,  the  English  actors,  know  this  well.  Mr. 
Macready  has  a  very  lively  imagination,  and  often  draws 
upon  it  for  his  facts.  He  said  in  a  speech  at  New  York, 
that  there,  also,  there  was  an  l  organized  opposition '  to  him, 
which  is  likewise  false.  There  was  no  opposition  mani 
fested  towards  him  there — for  I  was  in  the  city  at  the  time, 
and  was  careful  to  watch  every  movement  with  regard  to 
such  a  matter.  Many  of  my  friends  called  upon  me  when 
Mr.  Macready  was  announced  to  perform,  and  proposed  to 
drive  him  from  the  stage  for  his  conduct  towards  me  in 
London.  My  advice  was,  do  nothing — let  the  superannu 
ated  driveller  alone — to  oppose  him  would  be  but  to  make 
him  of  some  importance.  My  friends  agreed  with  me  it 
was,  at  least,  the  most  dignified  course  to  pursue,  and  it 
was  immediately  adopted.  With  regard  to  an  '  organized 
opposition  to  him'  in  Boston,  this  is,  I  believe,  equally 
false ;  but  perhaps  in  charity  to  the  poor  old  man,  I  should 
impute  these  '  chimeras  dire '  rather  to  the  disturbed  state 
of  his  guilty  conscience,  than  to  any  desire  upon  his  part 
wilfully  to  misrepresent.  "  EDWIX  FORREST. 

"PHILADELPHIA,  1STOV.  21st,  1848." 

The  only  mistake  we  think  Mr.  Forrest  made  in 
this  letter,  was  the  expression  calling  Mr.  Macready  a 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEREST.  325 

"superannuated  driveller/'  Mr.  Macready  was  born  in 
the  year  1793,  consequently  at  the  time  this  article 
was  written,  1848,  he  was  but  fifty-five  years  of  age. 
A  man  cannot  be  called  or  considered  superannuated 
at  that  age. 

To  this  letter,  Mr.  Macready  replied  in  a  card  "to 
the  public/'  dated  Jones'  Hotel,  Nov.  22nd,  1848 : 

"In  a  card,  published  in  the  Public  Ledger  and  other 
morning  papers  of  this  day,  Mr,  Forrest  having  avowed 
himself  the  author  of  the  statement,  which  Mr.  Macready 
has  solemnly  pledged  his  honor  to  be  without  the  least 
foundation,  Mr,  Macready  cannot  be  wanting  in  self-respect 
so  far  as  to  bandy  words  upon  the  subject ;  but,  as  the  circu 
lation  of  such  statements  is  manifestly  calculated  to  preju 
dice  Mr.  Macready  in  the  opinion  of  the  American  public, 
and  affect  both  his  professional  interests  and  his  estimation 
in  society,  Mr.  Macready  respectfully  requests  the  public 
to  suspend  their  judgment  upon  the  questions,  until  the 
decision  of  a  legal  tribunal,  before  which  he  will  imme 
diately  take  measures  to  bring  it,  and  before  which  he  will 
prove  his  veracity,  hitherto  unquestioned,  shall  place  the 
truth  beyond  doubt.  *  *  * 

"  For  the  other  aspersions  upon  Mr.  Macready,  pub 
lished  in  the  Boston  Mail,  and  now,  as  it  is  understood, 
avowed  by  Mr.  Forrest,  Mr.  Macready  will,  without  delay, 
apply  for  legal  redress." 

Mr.  Forrest's  reply  to  this  card,  goes  over  the  whole 
ground  of  the  reception  he  received  at  the  Princess' 
Theatre,  in  1845;  Mr.  Macready's  complicity  with 
"  Forster,"  the  "  toady,"  the  influencing  of  Bulwer,  etc. 
He  quotes  from  the  several  London  papers  to  show 
that  Mr.  Macready's  "veracity"  was  at  fault.  Our 
readers  will  remember  that  we  have,  in  a  former 
number,  gone  over  the  grounds  of  the  quarrel  between 
these  two  gentlemen  in  1845— a  quarrel  which  Mr. 
Macready  foolishly  revived  in  1848-9. 


326  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOREEST. 

As  regards  the  threatened  law  suit,  Wm.  B.  Keed's 
letter  to  Mr.  Macready,  dated  May  1st,  1849,  settles 
the  matter.  The  letter  is  just  such  a  one  as  an  acute 
and  sensible  lawyer  would  write  to  a  client  he  did  not 
intend  to  fleece ;  and  Mr.  Keed  showed  his  good  sense 
in  advising  his  excitable  client  to  keep  away  from  the 
courts.  We  give  an  extract  from  Mr.  Reed's  letter: — 

"  Our  opinion  was,  that  the  publications  were  libellous, 
and  that  an  action  would  lie.  But  we  could  not  reconcile 
it  to  our  sense  of  duty  to  you,  as  a  stranger,  and  one  who 
could  not  remain  here  to  watch  the  inevitable  delay  of 
litigation,  to  advise  you  thus  to  assert  your  rights.  In  my 
own  mind,  I  was  entirely  satisfied  that  none  of  the  attacks 
made  on  you  could  in  the  end  do  you  the  least  harm,  and 
there  was,  therefore,  on  my  part,  no  hesitation  in  advising 
you  not  to  bring  a  suit.  All  that  since  has  occurred  satis 
fies  me  that  I  was  right.  Your  discreet  and  dignified 
silence  under  provocation  of  no  ordinary  kind,  has  won 
and  kept  you  many  friends,  etc.  *  * 

"WILLIAM  B.  REED." 

This  "dignified  silence"  consisted  in  his  client 
making  injudicious  speeches — talking  loudly  at  private 
dinners  against  Mr.  Forrest — compelling  managers  to 
refuse  free  admissions  to  persons  connected  with  the 
press  who  wrote  against  him — influencing  the  press 
by  flattering  the  critics,  who  in  return,  praised,  puffed, 
and  fawned  on  the  great  actor  ^  at  the  expense  of  our 
own  tragedian,  and  independent  criticism. 

Mr.  Reed's  letter  is  worthy  a  Philadelphia  lawyer; 
he  knew  there  were  no  grounds  for  a  libel  suit^  and  gets 
quietly  out  of  the  matter  by  flattering  his  client  with 
such  sugared  expressions  as  "  your  discreet  and  digni 
fied  silence,"  and  having  "won  and  kept  many  friends." 
The  actor  swallowed  the  bait,  and  the  suit  was  with 
drawn.  The  hook;  however,  was  in  his  gill  and  ran- 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  327 

kled  there.  His  next  move  was  to  publish  letters  from 
England,  commenting  on  the  emeute,  and  compliment 
ing  his  speeches  as  manly  and  dignified. 

The  English  view  taken  of  the  whole  matter  was 
not  endorsed  by  the  American  press.  Even  E.  Bulwer 
Lytton's  letter  to  his  "dear  friend"  Macready,  dated 
December  16th,  1848,  did  not  explain  away  his  refusal 
to  allow  Mr.  Forrest  to  play  Kichelieu  and  Claude 
Melnotte.  In  fact,  all  his  attempts  to  throw  the  whole 
blame  of  the  attacks  made  upon  him  here  on  Mr.  For 
rest,  most  signally  failed,  and  the  commencement  of 
his  second  engagement  foreshadowed  a  storm  that  his 
friends  like  our  own  "  Old  Probabilities/'  should  have 
apprehended  by  examining  the  nation's  barometer. 
We  have  spoken  of  the  "B'hoys"  of  New  York.  In 
addition  to  what  we  have  said,  let  us  give  an  extract 
from  Mr.  William  Knight  NorthalFs  "  Before  and  Be 
hind  the  Curtain,"  published  in  New  York,  in  1851. 
Speaking  of  this  class  known  as  the  "  B'hoys,"  he  says : 
"  It  embraced,  however,  a  very  wide  variety,  both  of  age 
and  of  character,  from  the  complete  rowdy,  whose  only 
vocation  is  to  ( pick  a  muss '  and  l  run  wid  der  machine ' 
— he  rarely  works  with  it — to  the  intelligent  young  me 
chanic,  who  on  an  occasional  'lark'  finds  a  relief  from 
the  monotony  of  his  daily  labor.  But  when  these  dis 
cordant  materials  are  brought  to  harmonize,  and  act 
upon  any  occasion  in  a  mass,  they  form  a  most  effective 
force,  whose  power  in  a  riot  nothing  short  of  military 
discipline  can  withstand.  We  have  no  evidence  what 
ever  that  an  understanding  existed  between  the  cele 
brated  Captain  Rynders  and  the  '  B'hoys/  or  that  the 
Empire  Club  was  cognizant  of  the  coming  storm." 

The  first  night  of  Mr.  Macready's  second  engage- 


328  LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FORREST. 

ment,  was  on  May  7th,  1849,  at  the  Astor  Place  Opera 
House. 

MESSRS.  WILLIAM  NIBLO  AND  JAMES  H.  HACKETT..  .DIRECTORS. 

MACBETH MR.  MACREADY. 

LADY  MACBETH MRS.  POPE. 

BROADWAY  THEATRE. 

PROPRIETOR MR.  E.  A.  MARSHALL. 

MACBETH MR.  FORREST. 

LADY  MACBETH MRS.  WALLACK. 

The  announcement  card  of  Messrs.  Niblo  and 
Hackett,  of  Mr.  Macready's  appearance,  caused  consid 
erable  excitement,  inasmuch  as  "  The  Boys "  talked 
loudly,  and  the  speeches  of  Mr.  Macready  were  quoted 
as  affording  sufficient  cause  to  create  a  "  muss."  Mr. 
Forrest's  letter  exposing  the  English  "  King's "  en 
deavor  to  have  him  hissed,  and  the  success  attend 
ing  it  in  London,  also  added  to  the  excitement ;  and 
as  the  evening  approached,  it  was  manifest  that  a 
spirit  of  determined  resistance  to  the  "  Kid-glove " 
gentry  (who  upheld  the  English  actor  at  the  expense 
of  Mr.  Forrest)  on  the  part  of  the  class  we  have  al 
ready  described,  was  prevalent.  Another  thing  that 
excited  the  fears  of  the  manager  was  the  avidity  with 
which  Opera  House  tickets  were  purchased  by  those 
who  had  never  before  been  seen  in  its  luxurious  in 
terior.  That  "The  Boys"  were  bound  to  be  there, 
was  evident.  They  probably  dreamed  as  little  as  any 
one  of  the  extent  to  which  the  disturbance  would  go. 
They  looked  upon  it  in  two  lights — first,  as  a  piece  of 
fun,  and  secondly,  as  the  means  of  teaching  foreigners 
a  lesson,  and  not  to  trifle  with  the  people  when  national 
pride  had  aroused  the  spirit  of  their  sires  to  put  down 
English  attempts  to  govern  the  "mimic  world."  The 
love  of  country  in  this  case  overcame  the  good  sense 


LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FORREST.  329 

and  second  thoughts  of  those  who  took  upon  them 
selves  the  right  of  redressing  grievances. 

Another  cause — an  error  of  the  managers  —  pro 
voked  the  ire  of  the  crowd.  They  had  sold  more 
tickets  than  the  whole  "  Opera  House "  could  accom 
modate.  This  completed  the  alarm  of  Mr.  Niblo, 
who  immediately  sought  the  Chief  of  Police,  and  re 
quested  the  presence  of  a  strong  detachment  of  his 
men  for  the  evening.  They  were  granted,  but  came, 
for  the  most  part,  too  late  to  be  of  much  service  in  the 
scenes  which  followed.  As  this  evening  laid  the  foun 
dation  for  the  dreadful  scenes  of  the  10th  of  May,  we 
give  our  readers  some  account  of  Mr.  Macready's  re 
ception. 

As  the  ominous  hour  of  half-past  seven,  P.  M., 
drew  near,  the  regular  "tramp"  warning,  peculiar  to 
the  Chatham  and  Bowery,  commenced.  Mr.  Niblo  was 
behind  the  scenes,  in  consultation  with  Mr.  Hackett. 
As  the  first  slight  echo  of  the  unusual  stage  reveille 
sounded  in  his  ear,  he  stepped  lightly  to  the  wing,  and 
pulling  the  edge  of  the  drop  curtain  slightly  towards 
him,  took  a  brief  but  earnest  survey  of  the  scene  be 
fore  him.  Officer  Bowyer,  of  the  chief's  bureau,  who 
had  just  at  that  moment  arrived,  was  standing  beside 
the  veteran  manager  as  he  was  surveying  the  scene  of 
action,  and  turning  to  the  officer,  said : 

"  This  looks  rather  dubious,  Mr.  Bowyer !  " 

"Yes  ;  the  'Boys'  are  here,  certainly  !  What  in 
duced  you  to  sell  so  many  tickets  ?  People  are  making 
a  tremendous  rush  at  the  doors  yet,  and  the  house  is 
full,  over-full,  already." 

At  that  instant  the  orchestra  commenced  an  over 
ture,  and  the  "tramp,  tramp,"  of  the  "  Boys"  through 
out  the  house,  for  a  moment,  ceased. 


330  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOBREST. 

"What  do  you  think,  Mr.  Hackett?  Is  there 
going  to  be  a  disturbance  ?  " 

Hackett  did  not  know,  but  passed  the  question  to 
Bowyer,  who  took  Mr.  Niblo's  place  at  the  wing,  and 
took  a  survey  at  the  entire  audience. 

"  There  is  mischief  in  the  parquette  and  amphithe 
atre,"  he  remarked;  "but,  probably,  no  actual  violence 
will  be  attempted.  '  The  Boys '  will  make  a  noise, 
and  endeavor  to  prevent  the  play  from  proceeding,  but 
possibly  will  do  nothing  further.  They  seem  to  be 
patient  and  very  good-natured,  but  Mr.  Macready  may 
expect  a  rough  reception." 

The  band  of  the  orchestra  ceased,  and  almost  in 
stantly  the  ominous  "  tramp,  rap,  rap,"  was  recom 
menced,  but  louder  and  more  determined.  Mrs.  Pope, 
dressed  as  Lady  Macbeth,  at  this  moment,  made  her 
appearance,  pale  with  real  excitement  and  agitation. 
"  My  God!  Mr.  Hackett!"  she  exclaimed,  "what  is 
the  matter  ?  Are  we  to  be  murdered  ?  Murdered  here 
to-night  ?  " 

"  Keep  calm,  my  dear  madame ;  there  is  no  cause 
for  alarm ;  everything  will  go  on  smoothly." 

Just  before  the  rising  of  the  curtain,  the  "  tramp, 
tramp — rap,  rap  ! "  had  entirely  ceased  ;  the  house  was 
perfectly  quiet ;  but,  alas,  it  was  a  lull  in  the  storm — 
a  calm  that  bore  a  significance,  which  neither  the 
managers  nor  the  police  understood. 

The  curtain  rose  upon  the  first  scene,  when  the  ap 
pearance  of  Mr.  Clarke,  who  personated  the  character 
of  Malcolm,  elicited  three  loud  and  enthusiastic  cheers 
from  the  parquette  and  gallery.  From  the  moment 
that  the  cheering,  hissing  and  whistling,  and  other 
expressions  of  feeling  began,  not  a  syllable  was  heard 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  331 

during  the  remainder  of  the  scene,  nor  the  succeeding 
one,  till  the  entrance  of  Macbeth,  passed  in  dumb  show. 
When  Macbeth  and  Banquo  entered  in  the  third  scene, 
the  uproar  was  deafening.  A  perfect  torrent  of  groans 
and  hisses  assailed  Mr.  Macready,  and  a  deluge  of 
assafoetida  was  discharged  upon  him  from  the  gallery, 
filling  the  whole  house  with  its  pungent  and  not  par 
ticularly  fragrant  odor.  A  rotten  egg,  a  la  Montreal, 
was  projected  against  him,  but  missing  his  face,  be 
spattered  the  stage  at  his  feet.  The  friends  of  Mr. 
Macready,  who  appeared  rather  to  outnumber  those 
opposed  to  him,  now  manifested  their  feelings  by  cries 
of  "  Shame  ! "  "  Shame  ! "  Cheers  and  waving  of  hand 
kerchiefs  provoked  a  response  in  the  form  of  renewed 
groans,  hisses,  and  a  half  dozen  rotten  potatoes  on  the 
part  of  the  others.  "  Three  cheers  for  Edwin  For 
rest  ! "  were  called  for  by  some  one  in  the  pit,  and  were 
given  with  great  enthusiasm  by  those  unfriendly  to  Mr. 
Macready.  Then  came  the  cry  of  "  Three  cheers  for 
Macready ! "  which  were  responded  to  with  equal  en 
thusiasm  by  the  opposite  side  of  the  house.  The  scene 
now  beggared  description.  Hisses,  groans,  cheers,  yells, 
screams,  and  all  sorts  of  noises,  in  the  midst  of  which, 
Mr.  Macready  still  maintained  his  position  in  the  centre 
of  the  stage.  "Off!  off!"  shouted  one  party.  "Goon! 
go  on ! "  screamed  the  other.  Mr.  Macready  approached 
the  lights.  He  was  greeted  by  roars  of  ironical  laughter 
and  reiterated  hisses  and  groans.  A  banner  was  exhib 
ited  in  front  of  the  amphitheatre,  bearing  on  one  side : 
"  No  apologies ;  it  is  too  late  ! "  and  on  the  other : 
"  You  have  proved  yourself  a  liar ! "  From  this  it  was 
evident  that  the  whole  programme  of  the  attack  had 
been  quietly  prepared.  The  appearance  of  the  banner 


332  LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FOEBEST. 

was  the  signal  for  a  perfect  tornado  of  uproarious  ap 
plause,  laughter,  cheers  and  groans,  in  the  midst  of 
which  an  old  shoe  and  a  cent  piece  were  hurled  at  Mr. 
Macready,  who  picked  up  the  copper  coin,  and,  with  a 
kingly  air,  put  it  into  his  bosom,  bowing  at  the  same 
time  with  mock  humility  to  the  quarter  of  the  gallery 
from  which  the  visitation  had  descended. 

Several  of  Mr.  Macready's  friends  now  became  much 
excited,  and  shouted  to  him  to  "go  on/'  and  "not  give 
up  the  ship,"  which  elicited  tremendous  groans,  hisses, 
and  cries  of  "  three  groans  for  the  codfish  aristocracy," 
cries  of  "down  with  the  English  hog."  "take  off  the 
Devonshire  bull!"  "'remember  how  Edwin  Forrest  was 
used  in  London ! "  Thus  passed  the  whole  of  the  first 
and  second  acts.  The  greater  portion  of  the  audience 
opposed  to  Mr.  Macready  seemed  in  excellent  humor. 
They  chanted  snatches  of  the  Witches'  Choruses,  and 
amused  themselves  by  asking  and  answering  all  kinds 
of  ridiculous  questions.  When  the  curtain  rose  on  the 
third  act,  and  Macbeth  appeared,  the  uproar  was  great 
er  than  ever.  Smash  came  a  chair  from  the  gallery, 
strewing  the  stage  with  its  fragments,  within  a  few 
feet  of  Mr.  Macready.  Another  chair  fell  at  his  feet, 
with  a  crash  which  resounded  through  the  house.  The 
few  ladies  in  the  boxes  started  up  from  their  seats,  and 
grew  quite  pale.  Another  chair  was  hurled  on  the 
stage,  and  the  curtain  suddenly  fell.  The  ladies  hur 
ried  from  the  boxes.  Thus  ended  the  first  attempt  of 
Mr.  Macready  to  play  in  opposition  to  the  popular  voice. 

One  act  of  Mr.  Macready's  during  the  noise  and 
confusion  had  a  tendency  to  provoke  the  audience,  and 
was  no  doubt  the  origin  of  the  subsequent  sad  and 
fatal  disaster.  Finding  that  the  hisses  were  becoming 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  333 

more  energetic,  and  the  groans  fast  rising  into  yells,  he 
suddenly  .stepped  forward  to  the  foot-lights,  and  with 
a  glance  of  defiance  at  the  amphitheatre,  gradually 
dropped  his  gaze,  until  his  eyes  rested  full  upon  the 
midway  occupants  of  the  parquette  seats.  Then,  with 
his  arms  folded,  and  his  brow  contracted  with  a  scowl 
of  mingled  derision  and  scorn,  he  slowly  paced  the 
breadth  of  the  stage,  eyeing,  as  far  as  possible,  each 
individual  who  so  pertinaciously  opposed  his  proceed 
ing  with  the  play.  This  was  in  bad  taste — it  was  a 
mistake.  The  "  Boys  "  became  aroused — it  was  not  the 
way  to  conciliate  them.  Had  he  adopted  a  different 
course — one  more  suited  to  our  National  feelings,  and 
the  well  known  good  nature  of  the  American  people, — 
we  question  if  the  scenes  which  followed  would  have 
occurred.  Allegorically  speaking,  it  was  the  Lion  defy 
ing  the  Eagle — practically,  however,  it  was 

JOHN  BULL  DEFYING  BROTHER  JONATHAN. 

It  was  an  imprudent  act,  and  the  last  one  ter 
minating  the  performance  on  the  evening  of  May 
7th,  1849. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

THE     19TH    OF    MAY,    1849. — JAMES    WATSON   WEBB. — 

APPEAL     TO     THE     WORKING    MEN. THE    MILITARY 

PREPARE  TO  FIRE. — THREATS  OF  THE  MOB. — ALARM 
IN  THE  GREEN-ROOM. — THE  WORD  GIVEN. — FIRE  ! — 
THE  FEARFUL  CLOSE  OF  THE  RIOT. — DEATH  ! 

A    POKTION  of  the  press  on  Tuesday,  the  eighth  of 
May,  made  the  most  unfounded  charges  against 


334  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

Mr.  Forrest,  and  endeavored  to  hold  him  responsible  for 
the  conduct  of  the  oppressors  of  Macready  on  the  night 
previous.  The  New  York  Courier  and  Enquirer  was 
particularly  personal,  asserting  that  Mr.  Forrest  had 
said  "that  Mr.  Macready  should  never  be  permitted  to 
appear  again  on  any  stage  in  this  city." 

To  this  charge  Mr.  Forrest,  through  his  counsel, 
Theodore  Sedgwick,  Esq.,  replied :  "  I  am  instructed 
to  say,  that  every  charge  against  Mr.  Forrest,  contained 
in  the  article  in  question,  is  absolutely  and  grossly 
false,  and  as  the  attack  is  coupled  with  reflections  of 
a  most  improper  and  offensive  character,  I  hope  you 
will  see  the  propriety  of  retracting  and  withdrawing 
the  accusation  in  the  most  immediate,  direct  and 
ample  manner/'  etc. 

Before  this  letter  was  received  by  the  editor,  he  had 
actually  made  an  apology,  retracting  what  he  said.  To 
this  article  he  appended  the  following  P.  S. 

"Since  the  foregoing  was  written,  we  have  received  the 
following  letter  (an  extract  we  have  given  above)  from  Mr. 
Sedgwick,  to  which  we  cheerfully  give  place,  and  only  re 
gret  that  any  charge  against,  or  allusion  to  Mr.  Forrest,  in 
connection  with  this  disgraceful  riot,  should  have  been 
made.  It  is  quite  certain  that  there  is  no  evidence  of  Mr. 
Forrest  being  a  party  to  the  proceeding ;  and  we  are  bound 
to  assume  that  he  was  not;  and  it  is  also  evident  that  such 
was  our  conviction  previous  to  the  receipt  of  Mr.  Sedg- 
wick's  note,  from  the  fact  that  the  foregoing  had  been  al 
ready  prepared  for  publication  by  our  associate,  and  we 
so  apprised  Mr.  Sedgwick's  messenger. 

"JAMES  WATSON  WEBB." 

We  have  stated  that  the  original  cause  of  riot  and 
bloodshed  were  the  grossly  insulting  speeches  of  Ma 
cready,  particularly  the  one  delivered  in  the  Astor 
Place  Opera  House,  on  the  25th  of  October.  But 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  335 

justice  to  Mr.  Macreacly  requires  us  to  say,  that  after 
the  demonstration  on  the  night  of  the  7th,  he  would 
have  retired  without  further  contest  with  the  public, 
but  for  the  officious  interference  of  a  few  persons 
who  were  prompted  by  various  motives  to  sustain  him. 
On  the  9th  of  May,  the  following  letter,  signed  by 
forty-eight  gentlemen  of  different  degrees  of  respect 
ability,  was  addressed  to  Mr.  Macready : 

"  To  W.  C.  MACREADY,  ESQ. 

"  DEAR  SIR  : — The  undesigned  having  heard  that  the 
outrage  at  the  Astor  Place  Opera  House,  on  Monday  eve 
ning,  is  likely  to  have  the  effect  of  preventing  you  from 
continuing  your  performances,  and  from  concluding  your 
intended  farewell  engagement  on  the  American  stage,  take 
this  public  method  of  requesting  you  to  reconsider  your 
decision,  and  of  assuring  you  that  the  good  sense  of  and 
respect  for  order  prevailing  in  this  community,  will  sus 
tain  you  in  the  subsequent  performances." 

The  journals  favorable  to  Mr.  Macready  were  en 
thusiastic  in  their  praise  of  the  distinguished  citizens 
who  signed  this  letter,  and  equally  fierce  in  their  de 
nunciations  of  those  who  had  the  temerity  to  hiss  him 
off  the  stage.  The  Courier,  the  Commercial,  the  Mir 
ror,  the  Express,  and  the  Day  Book,  fairly  dared  any 
one  to  attend  at  the  Opera  House  on  the  night  of  the 
10th,  to  hiss  Macready.  Those  who  hissed  him  on  the 
night  of  the  7th,  were  denominated  "  rowdies,"  "  ruf 
fians/'  "  blackguards,"  "  rabble/'  "  lower  classes/'  and 
"the  worst  kind  of  Loco  Focos."  The  Mirror  invited 
them  to  the  theatre  to  have  another  "  trial  of  strength," 
and  the  Courier  assured  Mr.  Macready  that  he  was  not 
opposed  "  by  any  portion  of  the  American  people  of 
whose  approbation  and  esteem  he  would  be  at  all  de 
sirous." 


336  LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOEEEST. 

.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  friends  of  Mr.  Ma- 
cready,  and  the  personal  and  political  enemies  of  Mr. 
Forrest,  united  in  giving  an  invitation  to  those  who 
felt  aggrieved  by  the  conduct  of  Macready,  to  meet 
them  at  the  Opera  House,  on  the  evening  of  the  10th, 
and  try  which  party  was  the  strongest !  The  dis 
tinguished  forty-eight  thought  their  names  alone  suf 
ficient  to  subdue  any  outbreak  on  the  part  of  the 
"lower  classes." 

The  sequel  proved  that  they  did  not  estimate  suf 
ficiently  the  strength  of  Macready' s  opponents,  nor  the 
depth  of  feeling  which  had  been  excited  against  him. 
On  a  trial  of  strength  the  distinguished  forty-eight, 
and  the  aristocracy,  generally,  were  no  match  for  the 
"  Boys." 

On  Tuesday  evening,  May  8th,  for  which  Mr.  Ma- 
cready  had  been  announced  in  Richelieu,  the  Opera 
House  was  closed.  On  Wednesday,  Mr.  Hackett  him 
self  played  in  The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor.  Mr. 
Macready  having  consented  to  play  again  after  the 
reception  of  the  letter,  Thursday  night  was  fixed 
for  his  re-appearance  in  Macbeth.  Both  parties  pre 
pared  for  the  struggle.  As  we  have  said,  it  was  to 
be  a  trial  of  strength — "  Aristocracy  and  the  English 
Clique  vs.  The  Lower  Classes."  The  lessees,  with 
some  of  the  signers  of  the  letter,  called  upon  Mayor 
Woodhull  and  concocted  measures  for  defending  the 
Opera  House  in  case  of  a  riot.  They  also  secured 
large  quantities  of  tickets,  and  distributed  them  freely 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  favorable  reception. 
Their  opponents  in  the  meantime  were  not  idle.  Pla 
cards  were  posted  about  the  walls,  some  pretending  to 
favor  Mr.  Macready,  and  couched  in  language  adapted 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  337 

to    excite    prejudice    against   him — some  were   more 
openly  hostile,  of  which  the  following  is  a  specimen : 

WORKING  MEN, 

SHALL 

AMERICANS    OR    ENGLISH    RULE 

In  this  city  ? 

The  crew  of  the  British  Steamer  have  threatened  all  Americans 
tvho  shall  dare  to  express  their  opinion  this  night  at  the  English 
Aristocratic  Opera  House  !  ! 

We  advocate  no  violence,  but  a  free  expression  of  opinion  to  all 
public  men ! 

WORKING    MEN!    FREEMEN!! 

STAND  BY  YOUR 

LAWFUL  RIGHTS. 

AMERICAN  COMMITTEE. 

On  Thursday  morning,  May  10th,  the  rival  pla 
cards  were  placed  side  by  side : 

ASTOR    PLACE    OPERA   HOUSE. 

DIRECTORS. 

Messrs.  Wm.  Niblo,  &  Jas.  H.  Hackett. 
This  evening  will  be  performed 

MACBETH. 

Macbeth,  Mr.  Macready.     Lady  Macbeth,  Mrs.  Pope. 
BROADWAY  THEATRE. 
Proprietor — E.  A.  Marshall. 
This  evening  will  be  performed 

THE    GLADIATOR. 

Spartacus,  Mr.  Forrest.    Julia,  Miss  Wallack. 

From  a  work  entitled,  "  Before  and  Behind  the 
Curtain,"  by  William  Knight  Northall,  New  York, 
1851,  we  give  an  extract  describing  this  terrible  night- 
scene,  which,  for  brevity  and  force,  surpasses  all  others 
that  were  given  on  the  morning  after  the  riot.  It  will 
close  our  account  of  the 

ASTOR   PLACE   OPERA    HOUSE.* 

"  It  was  peculiarly  unfortunate  that  just  at  the  time 

*  Shortly  after  the  trial  of  the  supposed  rioters,  the  whole  pro 
ceedings  were  published,  but  as  the  details  are  dry  and  technical,  and 
given  in  law  phraseology,  we  deem  the  statement  given  here  fully 
sufficient  to  furnish  our  readers  some  idea  of  this  most  terrible  riot. 

21 


338  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

the  new  Mayor,  but  a  day  or  two  installed,  was  scarcely 
versed  enough,  in  the  duties  of  his  position  to  act  with 
all  the  decision  that  was  required.  Still,  dispositions 
were  made  on  Thursday  to  meet  any  emergency,  by  de 
tailing  a  body  of  three  hundred  men  to  the  Opera 
House,  and  ordering  two  regiments  of  citizen  soldiery 
to  be  under  arms,  and  at  their  quarters  on  that  evening. 
The  Opera  House  was  carefully  occupied,  the  men 
posted,  and  the  windows  barricaded ;  and  thus  they 
awaited  for  the  conflict  to  commence. 

"As  soon  as  the  doors  were  opened,  a  rush  com 
menced,  which,  in  a  very  short  time,  nearly  filled  the 
house.  Most  of  the  doors  were  soon  closed  again,  and 
the  complaint  was  made  that  none  were  admitted 
but  those  who  bore  tickets  with  the  private  mark  of 
the  Macready  party.  * 

"  An  attempt  was  made  by  a  party  outside  to  batter 
down  one  of  the  doors,  but  was  prevented  by  the  police. 
The  glass  lamps  were  broken,  and  stones  were  thrown 
through  a  single  window  that  had  been  left  unbarred, 
falling  inside  among  the  audience.  The  play  com 
menced,  amid  a  storm  of  cheers  and  hisses.  But,  on 
the  whole,  the  scene  within  the  house  was  of  a  less  ex 
citing  character  than  on  the  previous  night.  The 
audience  had  been  carefully  picked,  and  "the  Boys" 
were  in  the  minority.  Still  they  maintained  a  deter 
mined  noise.  The  play  proceeded  almost  in  dumb 
show  until  after  the  commencement  of  the  second  act. 
Then,  just  as  the  rioters  were  about  to  jump  in  a  body 

*  It  appeared  in  evidence,  upon  the  trial  of  Edward  Z.  C.  Judson 
(Ned  Buntline),who,  it  was  said,headed  the  mob  outside,  and  called 
upon  them  to  stone  the  building,  that  some  of  these  tickets  were  ob 
tained  by  his  opponents  and  supplied  to  the  friends  of  "  Ned  Forrest." 
This  was  termed,  "  Shooting  the  Egyptians." 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  339 

from  the  parquette  to  the  stage,  the  chief  of  police 
gave  the  preconcerted  signal  by  raising  his  hat.  In 
an  instant,  the  police  sprang  to  their  work.  The  house 
was  quickly  cleared  of  all  but  a  few  of  the  most  vio 
lent,  the  doors  were  closed  again,  and  the  latter  found 
themselves  very  cleverly  caught,  and  most  effectually 
prevented  from  helping  their  friends  outside.  Thus 
ended  the  play  within." 

The  Herald,  speaking  of  the  scene,  said :  "  At  this 
time,  the  scene  within  the  house  was  indeed  most  ex 
citing.  In  front  and  rear,  the  fierce  assaults  of  the 
mob,  as  they  thundered  at  the  doors,  resounded  all 
over  the  theatre,  while  the  shouts  and  yells  of  the  as 
sailants  were  terrific.  Inside,  however,  all  was  com 
paratively  quiet/' 

As  the  mob  increased  in  magnitude,  and  in  the 
ferocity  with  which  they  assailed  the  building,  the  cry 
arose  inside,  and  also  outside,  among  the  peaceable 
citizens — "  Where  are  the  police  ?  Cannot  anything 
be  done  to  disperse  the  rioters  ?  Where  is  the  Mayor  ? 
Military  ?  " 

Let  us  renew  our  extracts  from  Mr.  Northall's 
account : — 

"  The  Seventh  Kegiment  marched  up  Broadway,  led 
by  a  body  of  horse.  Their  arrival  upon  the  scene  of 
action  only  made  the  mob  more  furious,  and  they  were 
attacked  with  stones  and  missiles  of  all  descriptions. 
The  horse  were  soon  forced  to  withdraw,  but  the  in 
fantry  stood  their  ground  like  veterans.  The  civil 
authorities  delayed  the  order  to  fire;  and  meanwhile 
the  troops  were  exposed  to  the  most  incessant  annoy 
ance,  without  the  power  of  defending  themselves. 

"  At  last  it  become  evident  that  they  must  fire  or 


340  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

withdraw.  It  was  even  doubtful  whether  they  could 
withdraw — whether,  on  the  first  symptoms  of  retreat, 
the  mob  would  not  overwhelm  them  and  wrest  the 
muskets  from  their  hands.  As  a  last  effort,  Kecorder 
Talmadge  boldly  went  forward  and  harangued  the 
rioters.  But  it  was  in  vain  ! — in  vain  !  although  with 
a  voice,  Stentorian  and  trumpet-toned,  he  informed  the 
frenzied  masses  that  in  the  eye  of  the  law  they  were 
all  rioters ;  that  if  blood  were  shed,  if  life  were  taken, 
they  alone  were  responsible  for  the  consequences ; 
that  the  military  were  present  to  protect  the  theatre, 
to  protect  Mr.  Macready,  to  preserve  the  peace  of  the 
city,  and  their  duty  would  be  performed  at  all  haz 
ards  !  that  the  muskets  of  the  National  Guards  were 
loaded  with  ball  cartridges,  and  that,  in  one  minute, 
unless  they  ceased  that  disgraceful  tumult,  the  pain 
ful,  but  necessary  order  would  be  given  to  FIRE  !  and 
that  the  troops  would  obey  that  order !  He  then 
appealed  to  them  as  good  citizens — as  members  of 
the  great  family  of  Americans,  worshipping  at  free 
dom's  altar — he  adjured  them  no  longer  thus  to  des 
ecrate  her  sacred  temple.  He  concluded  with  saying : 
'Ketire  instantly  to  your  homes — depart,  each  one 
of  you !  I  warn  you,  upon  your  peril,  remain  in  this 
vicinity  not  one  moment  longer!  Depart,  I  adjure 
you,  and  let  this  street  be  cleared,  or  the  soldiers 
here  beside  me — your  own  brothers — the  armed  citi 
zens  of  New  York — will  fire  upon  you,  as  sure  as 
there  is  a  God  above  us !  This  building  will  be  pro 
tected,  whatever  consequences  ensue;  the  sacred  ma 
jesty  of  the  law  ivill  be  vindicated  !  Disperse !  Don't 
wait  for  the  fearful  order!  Disperse!  Every  good 
citizen  will  linger  here  no  longer.  Go  home!  each  one 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORREST.  341 

— go  home !  For  God's  sake,  fellow-citizens  !  brothers  ! 
— quit  this  spot,  and  let  this  tumult — this  cruel  and 
dastardly  attack — cease  ! ' 

"The  only  replies  to  those  humane  and  philan 
thropic  efforts  were  renewed  ahuse,  scoffs,  hoots,  yells 
of  defiance,  and  fresh  vollies  of  stones  ! 

"In  truth,  such  was  the' diabolical  uproar,  that 
even  the  strong  voice  of  the  Recorder  could  be  heard 
but  a  few  feet  from  the  spot  where  he  stood;  and 
probably  few,  very  few,  of  the  mob  ever  understood  a 
word  of  the  remonstrance — the  earnest  request,  or  the 
menace ! 

" '  Gen.  Hall/  said  the  Recorder,  as  he  slowly 
struggled  through  the  crowd  up  to  the  spot  where 
that  officer  was  standing,  at  the  right  of  the  bat 
talion  under  his  immediate  charge,  '  you  must  order 
your  men  to  fire  !  It  is  a  terrible  alternative,  but  there 
is  no  other ! ' 

" i  Is  the  Mayor  here  to  issue  the  order  ? '  queried 
the  careful  soldier. 

" '  Sheriff  Westervelt's  authority  is  sufficient. 
Mayor  Woodhull,  as  I  am  just  informed  by  Justice 
Mountfort,  has  left  the  theatre  and  taken  up  his  head 
quarters  at  the  New  York  Hotel/ 

" i  Had  not  the  Mayor  best  be  sent  for  ? '  asked 
one  of  the  minor  magistrates  present. 

" '  The  National  Guards  cannot  stand  here  another 
minute  ! '  responded  simultaneously  General  Sanford 
and  Col.  Duryea,  who  had  just  joined  the  conference. 
c  Nearly  one-third  of  the  force  is  disabled  already/ 

"  i  You  need  not  send  for  the  Mayor ;  he  will  not 
come  here  again  to-night/  interposed  a  policeman,  his 
head  bound  with  a  handkerchief,  beneath  which  the 


342  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORREST. 

blood  was  trickling  down  his  cheek,  from  a  severe  blow 
t)f  a  stone  over  the  temple. 

"  '  What  say  you,  Sheriff  Westervelt  ?  '  asked 
General  Hall. 

" < Has  the  Riot  Act  been  read  ? '  interrupted  a  well- 
dressed  '  sympathizer/  dodging  his  head  out  of  the 
door- way.  1L  warn  you  never  to  fire  upon  the  people 
until  they  hear  the  Riot  Act ! ' 

"  '  The  Riot  Act  has  been  heard  sufficiently  all  the 
evening/  replied  the  Recorder.  i  Mr.  Sheriff,  I  con 
sider  your  duty  plain  and  imperative ! ' 

"  (  Gen.  Sanford  ! '  was  Mr.  Westervelt's  response, 
'you  have  my  permission  to  act  as  you  consider  in 
dispensable  in  this  emergency  ! ' 

"  '  Do  you  give  me  the  order  to  fire  ? ' 

"  ( I  do,  sir !     It  is  the  only  resource  left ! ' 

"'Mr.  Matsell,  call  in  your  policemen — we  shall 
be  forced  to  employ  bullets  in  half  a  minute ! '  And 
stepping  in  front  of  the  line,  Gen.  Sanford,  with  some 
difficulty,  made  himself  understood  so  as  to  bring 
the  troops  to  the  position  of  i  ready/  at  the  same 
time  warning  the  mob  to  fall  back,  as  the  guards 
would  most  assuredly  fire  !  He  was  accompanied 
by  Gen.  Hall  and  Col.  Duryea,  who  exerted  them 
selves  to  the  utmost  in  inducing  the  people  to  re 
tire,  and  thus  save  themselves  and  force  the  painful 
alternative  ! 

"  But  all  this  was  of  no  avail.  The  rioters  would 
not  understand  that  the  movement  was  sincere,  or  else, 
in  their  mad  passion,  they  seemed  determined  to  brave 
even  death  itself,  rather  than  desist  from  their  infa 
mous  assaults. 

"  <  Fire   and  be  d d  ! '      <  Fire  if   you  dare ! ' 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FOKREST.  343 

1  To  Hell  with  your  guns  ! '  '  Shoot  away,  you  infer 
nal  sons  of !' 

" i  Fire  into  this/  yelled  a  grimed  and  heavy-headed 
rioter,  holding  a  large  stone  between  his  knees,  while 
with  both  hands  he  tore  open  the  bosom  of  his  red 
shirt.  '  Take  the  life  out  of  a  free  born  American 
for  a  bloody  British  actor  !  Do  it,  aye,  you  darsen't/ 

" '  Fire,  will  ye !'  screamed  another,  hurling  a  missile 
at  Gen.  Sanford,  which  took  effect  upon  his  sword  arm, 
rendering  it  powerless  for  the  time — '  take  that,  ye 
chalk-livered  oakum-faced  rat/  i  Ho !  all  together, 
now  boys  !  Hit  'em  again  !  Give  the  counter  jumping 
sogers  hell/  and  other  similar,  but  more  outrageous 
language,  was  the  only  response  to  their  humane  efforts. 

"At  the  moment  when  Sheriff  Westervelt  indicated 
to  Gen.  Sanford  the  determination  of  the  authorities 
to  resort  to  the  extreme  remedy,  the  police,  with  their 
stars  concealed,  were  intermingled  with  the  crowd,  im 
mediately  in  front  of  the  theatre.  They  had  just 
restored  the  captured  muskets  to  the  troops,  and  occa 
sionally  singling  out  a  rioter  more  violent  and  dis 
orderly  than  the  rest,  they  would  manage  to  jostle 
him  from  the  mass,  when,  by  a  sudden  and  concealed 
movement,  they  were  sometimes  successful  in  effecting 
his  arrest  and  removal  to  the  interior.  It  was  a  mat 
ter  of  imminent  necessity,  that  these  policemen  should 
be  called  within  the  lines  immediately,  but  the  task 
proved  not  at  all  an  easy  one,  since  at  the  time  the 
chief  received  his  caution  from  Gen.  Sanford,  a  pretty 
energetic  fight  was  progressing  for  the  possession  of  a 
prisoner,  between  the  officers  and  the  rioters. 

"As  it  was,  the  first  volley  was  fired  while  many  of 
the  policemen  were  still  in  the  midst  of  the  mob;  and 


344  LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FORREST. 

even  at  the  second  discharge,  several  of  them  were  ex 
posed,  they  being  still  within  the  range  of  the  military. 

"  The  pause  for  the  last  but  fatal  command  was  brief 
— yet  those  few  moments  were  almost  hours  of  fearful 
suspense  to  those  who  knew  that  death  brooded  over 
that  mass  of  criminality  and  violence  !  Certainly,  the 
general  aim  was  not  a  murderous  one ;  yet  none  could 
tell  the  mischief  about  to  be  occasioned  by  a  glancing 
ball  or  stray  bullet.  Friends  and  relatives,  possibly, 
were  amid  the  multitude  before  them  !  And  besides,  a 
dangerous  and  delicate  experiment  was  about  to  be 
tried  !  If  this  demonstration  did  not  serve  to  intimi 
date,  what  would  be  the  result  ?  Would  the  guards 
obey  the  order  if  commanded  to  pour  a  point-blank 
volley  into  the  bosoms  of  their  fellow-citizens  ? 

"  These  were  startling  questions  !  Nay,  they  were 
terrible ! 

"A  moment  or  two  would  decide  all ! 

"'Fire!' 

"  The  word  came  from  Gen.  Hall,  clear  and  distinct. 
It  was  heard  above  the  din  and  confusion,  along  the 
whole  line. 

"  A  single  musket,  on  the  extreme  left,  responded  ! 

"'Fire!'  exclaimed  Gen.  Sanford,  with  all  the 
energy  of  voice  his  lungs  would  afiord. 

"  Three  more  pieces  on  the  right  were  discharged 
almost  simultaneously. 

"'Fire!  Guards!!  Fire!!!7  shouted  Col.  Duryea 
• — and  the  remainder  of  the  volley  flashed  forth,  the 
pieces  speaking  with  that  sharper  and  fuller  toned 
report  which  distinguished  the  service  charge  from 
the  mere  powder  and  paper  of  field  day  ! 

"  The  instant  glare  lit  up  a  sea  of  angry  faces  on 


I 

LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FORREST.  345 

Astor  Place — of  human  forms  clustered  in  the  windows 
and  on  the  roofs  of  the  adjacent  buildings ;  the  tattered 
and  broken  lamps  in  front  for  a  moment  were  seen  clear 
and  distinct — the  shattered  windows  of  the  theatre 
itself  were  for  a  twinkling  visible,  and  then  all  again 
was  darkness !  while  the  blue  sulphurous  smoke  rolled 
outward  among  the  crowd,  or  curled  in  dim  eddies 
around  the  Guards  themselves  ! 

"  And  thus  ended  the  Astor  Place  riots.  The  mob 
soon  broke  and  fled ;  for  they  knew  now  the  authori 
ties  were  terribly  in  earnest.  The  obnoxious  player 
was  vanquished  and  driven  out ;  but  it  had  cost  thirty 
American  lives  to  do  it.  The  majesty  of  the  law  was 
vindicated  ! 

"Peace  to  the  memory  of  those  who  fell;  let  us  not 
judge  harshly  of  the  dead." 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE    CAUSES   LEADING    TO    THE    DIVORCE    BETWEEN    MR. 

FORREST    AND    HIS  WIFE. DOMESTIC    DIFFICULTIES. 

DIFFERENCE   BETWEEN    AMERICAN     AND    ENGLISH 

LIFE. MRS.     FORREST. STATE     OF     THE    DRAMA. 

ENGLISH    ACTORS,  AND  ACTRESSES. — A   LEGAL    OPIN 
ION. CORRUPT    LEGISLATURE. 

WE  had  purposed  to  pass  over  in  silence  that  pain 
ful  episode  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Forrest,  known  in 
criminal  records  as  "  The  Forrest  Divorce  Case/'  but 
as  it  placed  that  gentleman  in  a  false  light  through  a 
biassed  court  and  jury,  a  few  of  the  leading  facts  of  the 


I 

346  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FOEEEST. 

case  we  deem  necessary  in  connection  with  these  Rem 
iniscences.  It  may  also  be  mentioned  that  many  mem 
bers  of  the  theatrical  profession,  particularly  at  that 
period,  were  not  considered  as  models  of  good  hus 
bands,  nor  their  wives  "angels  of  the  household." 

We  do  not  deny  but  that  the  stage  has  furnished 
many  grave  reasons  for  critical  censure,  by  sustaining 
actors  and  actresses  whose  conduct  was  gradually  les 
sening  its  moral  tendency.  This,  however,  is  not  the 
general  character  of  those  of  the  theatrical  profession, 
but  it  has  been  sufficient  to  elicit  censure  from  the 
opponents  of  the  stage.  They  have  gone  so  far  as  to 
say,  the  "theatre  is  a  school  of  vice,"  aa  place  to  learn 
wickedness,"  and  "that  corruption  and  debauchery  are 
the  truly  natural  and  genuine  effects  of  stage  entertain 
ments."  This  domestic  difficulty  of  Mr.  Forrest's,  is 
only  one  of  a  hundred  grievances  traceable  to  the  de 
testable  influence  of  the  French  and  English  school  of 
morals  which  have  flooded  the  land  for  years.  It  is 
well  known  that  the  English  and  French,  or  at  least 
many  of  them,  have  none  of  that  refined  sense  of  what 
constitutes  the  real  pleasure  of  the  domestic  circle. 
The  manners  and  customs  of  a  country  are  the  crite- 
rions  by  which  we  form  our  opinions  of  those  who  prac 
tice  them  both  at  home  and  abroad.  The  influence  of 
education  properly  exercised,  with  a  strict  eye  to  the 
observances  of  the  rules  of  etiquette,  are  readily  dis 
cernible  in  those  whose  'parents  direct  the  education  of 
their  children.  Mrs.  Forrest's  parents,  or  at  least  the 
father,  was  a  professional  man,  and  had  all  those 
notions  of  life  derived  from  a  stage  point.  It  was 
English  life  as  exemplified  both  on  the  stage  and  off, 
but  totally  unsuited  to  that  of  the  American. 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORKEST.  347 

If  Mr.  Forrest  had  established  in  his  household 
certain  rules,  and  taught  his  wife  the  difference  between 
English  and  American  habits,  much  of  the  evil,  arising 
out  of  their  misunderstanding,  might  have  been  obvi 
ated.  The  effect,  however,  of  this  neglect  soon  became 
apparent,  all  of  which  for  awhile,  Mr.  Forrest  bore  in 
silence,  the  time  came,  however,  when  he  found  it 
necessary  to  remonstrate. 

It  was  said  on  the  trial  that  when  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Sinclair  came  to  this  country,  with  their  daughters, 
they  made  Mr.  Forrest's  house  their  home,  where  they 
made  themselves  perfectly  happy,  not  only  in  the  enjoy 
ment  of  what  the  wealth  of  the  son-in-law  afforded,  but 
drawing  around  them  men  and  women  with  whom  Mr. 
Forrest  had  little  or  no  acquaintance.  This  in  a  man 
ner  estranged  man  and  wife,  for  Mr.  Forrest  as  it  is 
well  known,  was  never  fond  of  home  company,  unless 
of  his  own  immediate  household. 

During  the  whole  course  of  Mr.  Forrest's  dramatic 
career,  his  object  was  to  maintain  the  dignity,  charac 
ter  and  morality  of  the  drama,  and  to  make  the  theatre 
a  source  of  noble  and  useful  entertainments.  As  a 
professional  man,  few  ever  enjoyed  a  higher  reputa 
tion,  both  on  and  off  the  stage,  for  upwards  of  fifty 
years,  than  did  Mr.  Forrest,  and  when  this  sad  episode 
in  his  private  life  occurred,  no  one  ever  suffered  more 
mentally  and  physically  than  he  did,  for  as  he  said : 
"this  state  of  things  has  destroyed  my  peace  of  mind, 
and  is  wearing  out  my  life." 

As  Mrs.  Forrest  is  still  living,  and  usefully  em 
ployed,  occupying  a  position  in  society  alike  respecta 
ble  and  honorable,  we  shall  refrain  from  making  use 
of  the  witnesses  who  testified  so  strongly  against  her 


348  LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOKREST. 

on  the  trial.  We  do  this  because,  to  speak  candidly, 
we  think  some  of  them  magnified  the  social  par 
ties  of  Mrs.  Forrest  materially,  and  not  understand 
ing  the  difference  between  actors  and  actresses  from 
those  of  other  professions,  felt  shocked  at  their  free 
and  liberal  manners.  That  these  witnesses  were  so  in 
fluenced,  we  have  no  doubt,  and  indeed  we  might  say 
with  that  eccentric  author  of  "  Tristam  Shandy,"  that 
these  witnesses  were  like  the  armies  spoken  of  in  that  in 
comparable  work — "  Who  Swore  terribly  in  Flanders/' 
As  a  specimen  of  the  evidence,  and  we  may  say  the 
most  important,  showing  the  gradual  working  up  of 
the  case,  and  the  beginning  of  Mr.  Forrest's  change  of 
behavior  to  his  wife,  we  give  the  following  evidence  as 
sworn  to  by  their  house-keeper : 

"At  all  times  previous  to  the  month  of  January,  1849, 
the  said  Edwin  Forrest  had  always  treated  his  wife  in  a 
kind  and  affectionate  manner.  I  considered  him  a  very 
indulgent  husband ;  whenever  he  was  in  the  city,  and  not 
absent  upon  his  professional  engagements,  he  was  very  do 
mestic  in  his  habits;  and  during  the  whole  time  that  I  have 
known  them,  up  to  January,  1849,  their  intercourse  was 
extremely  confidential,  affectionate  and  intimate. 

"  And  I  further  say,  that  while  I  was  in  Mr.  Forrest's 
house  in  Reade  Street,  the  demeanor  of  both  him  and  his 
wife  was  most  kind  and  affectionate,  and  I  had  not  the 
slightest  reason  to  doubt  that  they  were  mutually  very 
much  attached  to  each  other. 

"When  I  returned  to  live  as  house-keeper  with  the 
said  Edwin  Forrest,  in  the  month  of  January,  1847,  the 
said  Forrest  and  his  wife  went  to  the  south,  where  they 
remained  for  about  two  months,  and  shortly  after  they  re 
turned,  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1847,  I  heard  conversa 
tions  among  the  servants  about  the  late  hours  kept  by  Mrs. 
Forrest  and  the  gentlemen  admitted  to  the  house  at  such 
late  hours,  and  I  soon  perceived  that  the  state  of  things 
between  Mr.  Forrest  and  his  wife  had  entirely  altered." 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  349 

Other  portions  of  the  evidence  as  given  on  the 
trial  are  totally  unfit  for  publication.  But  as  the  jury 
ignored  this  evidence  in  rendering  its  decision,  so  will 
we  (except  in  one  instance),  but  will  confine  ourselves 
simply  to  the  statements  made  by  each  of  the  parties 
and  that  of  a  few  friends.  There  is  enough  in  these 
to  show  that,  guilty  or  innocent  of  any  actual  crime, 
there  is  sufficient  in  these  statements  to  satisfy  the 
reader  that  Mr.  Edwin  Forrest  and  Mrs.  Catharine 
Sinclair  Forrest  could  never  again  live  together  as 
man  and  wife  ! 

"  Of  all  the  passions,  jealousy 
Exacts  the  hardest  services,  and  pays 
The  bitterest  wages." 

The  scenes  as  detailed  on  the  trial  were  of  such  a 
nature  as  to  horrify  our  American  ideas  of  propriety, 
and  yet  are  thought  nothing  of  in  France  and  England. 
The  servants,  not  accustomed  to  this  mode  of  enter 
taining  guests,  viewed  the  whole  affair  in  a  criminal 
light,  and  indeed  to  them  it  so  appeared.  That  pure 
moral  tone  which  should  produce  harmony  in  the 
household,  and  strengthen  love,  is  made  discord,  by  re 
pudiating  the  marriage  vow,  and  the  refinement  so 
essential  to  the  female  character. 

A  true  woman  is  the  embodiment  of  virtue ;  she 
stands  like  the  sun — 

"  And  all  which  rolls  round 
Drinks  life,  and  light,  and  glory  from  her  aspect." 

Virtue  may  be  assailed,  but  never  hurt.  It  is  vice 
that  spreads  its  poison  through  the  soul,  and  closes  up 
all  the  avenues  leading  to  the  portals  of  purity.  It  is 
vice  that  demoralizes  society,  pales  the  fair  face  of  vir 
tue,  and  though 


350  LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FOKREST. 

"  Well  perfumed,  and  elegantly  dressed, 
Like  an  unburied  carcass  tucked  with  flowers, 
Is  but  a  garnished  nuisance,  better  far 
For  cleanly  riddance  than  for  attire." 

Shortly  after  the  conclusion  of  the  trial,  Mr.  Forrest 
visited  Philadelphia.  We  were  at  that  time  writing  a 
series  of  dramatic  articles  for  the  Pennsylvanian,  the 
editor  and  proprietor  of  which  was  our  much  esteemed 
and  valued  friend,  John  W.  Forney,  Esq.  We' give 
the  following  article  entire,  which  we  wrote  at  that 
time,  1852.  Then,  as  now,  we  endeavor  to  shield  the 
lady  from  the  serious  impression  the  trial  had  made 
on  the  minds  of  the  community,  by  attributing  the 
cause  to  levity  and  improper  training  in  her  youth  : 

THE  DRAMA. 

Mr.  Edwin  Forrest,  with  some  remarks  on  the  morality  of 
the  Drama. 

BY   COLLEY   GIBBER. 

"  The  visit  of  Mr.  Edwin  Forrest  to  his  native  city — 
his  home,  his  residence,  in  despite  of  the  New  York 
clique,  has  been  one  of  a  pleasurable  character,  although 
the  mantle  of  sorrow  weighs  heavily  upon  him.  A  re 
view  of  the  extraordinary  trial  through  which  he  had 
passed,  its  extraordinary  result,  the  triumph  of  a  clique, 
the  prejudice  of  a  court,  and  the  hostility  of  a  jury,  fully 
satisfies  us  that  the  whole  scene  was  a  base  attempt  to  sub 
serve  the  interests  of  that  clique,  at  the  expense  of  truth 
and  justice.  The  enormous  amount  of  alimony — an 
amount  predicated  on  the  interest  of  a  man's  estate, 
guessed  at  by  ex-parte  witnesses,  has  astonished  and  con 
founded  every  one.*  The  real  cause  of  Mr.  Forrest's  com 
plaint,  the  breaking  up  of  his  domestic  peace,  the  ruin  ol 
his  prospects  in  the  connubial  state,  were  thrown  aside,  and 
his  errors,  made  so  under  the  English  law,  which  still  ex 
ists  in  New  York,  to  sustain  a  subject  of  that  ilk,  and 

*  Alimony,  an  allowance  to  which  a  married  woman  is  entitled 
•upon  a  legal  separation  from  her  husband,  when  she  is  not  charged 
•with  adultery  or  an  elopement. 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  351 

satisfy  its  adherents.  We  ask,  what  else  is  the  construc 
tion  that  can  be  put  upon  this  most  extraordinary  case  and 
its  results?  Malice  did  its  work;  a  jury  made  up  of  Mr. 
Forrest's  enemies — a  jury  determined  to  crush  him,  ac 
complished  the  rest.  Mr.  Forrest  had  been  made  the  easy 
tool  of  designing  men;  his  noble,  generous  nature  abused, 
household  invaded,  himself  cheated.  These  are  the  friends 
of  the  unwary,  the  confiding. 

"  Has  this  trial  and  its  result  lessened  him  here  ?  No. 
His  English  foes  have  got  a  portion  of  his  wealth — it  was 
their  aim — they  can  now  revel  on  it. 

"  It  will  be  understood  that  we  take  the  view  of  those 
scenes  described  by  the  witnesses  as  occurring  in  Mr.  For 
rest's  house,  already  expressed  by  us,  from  an  English 
stand-point,  both  as  regards  their  social  and  public  habits. 
The  English  stage,  never  too  pure,  furnishes  us  a  history 
that  is  calculated  not  only  to  effect  the  moral,  but  the 
literary  character  of  an  institution,  intended  to  be  the 
noblest  in  the  world. 

"Take  a  glance  even  now  around  among  our  dif 
ferent  theatres ;  managers  as  well  as  actors  figure  largely 
as  bigamists,  and  many  of  the  women  as  their  part 
ners  in  the  crime.  We  have  now  two  or  three  Mrs. 
B .  We  have  the  husband  of  one  of  them  keep 
ing  a  tavern  in  Georgia,  and  another  sojourning  in  other 
lands.  We  could  unfold  the  history  of  another  whose 
crimes  have  grown  gray  in  the  annals  of  our  drama;  we 
could  speak  of  one  who  has  turned  his  wife  and  children 
out  of  doors,  and  takes  in  her  place  another  man's  wife ! 
We  could  tell  of  one  whose  name  is  allied  to  vice  in 
every  shape  and  form — we  could  tell  of  females,  one 
who  lived  with  the  murderer  of  her  husband,  and 
whose  death  transferred  her  to  infamy  and  still  deeper  in 
vileness.  We  could  speak  of  one  who  left  her  husband, 
and  now  passes  as  the  wife  of  a  man  who  has  two  other 
wives  living.  Another  manager,  bought  the  wife  of  a 
musician  engaged  in  the  orchestra  of  his  own  theatre,  for 
a  new  suit  of  clothes  and  fifty  dollars  cash ! 

"  Are  not  these  dreadful  things?  Do  we  not  live  in  an 
age  of  crime  ?  Is  there  any  wonder  why  the  drama  is  de 
based,  and  the  moral  tone  of  a  theatre  destroyed  ?  Crime 
and  depravity,  vice  and  immorality  attract,  while  modest 
talent,  allied  to  virtue,  is  disregarded.  Such  is  the  charac- 


352  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

ter  of  that  class,  from  which  spring  those  evils  which  are 
demoralizing  society.  Little  crimes  become  as  nothing, 
and  larger  ones  fashionable ;  we  adopt  the  manners  of  the 
foreigner,  and  learn  to  imitate  his  vices.  Whatever  may 
have  been  the  character  of  those  who  visited  the  house  of 
Mr.  Forrest  during  his  absence,  such  at  least  is  the  charac 
ter  of  two-thirds  of  those  who  now  sway  the  destinies  of 
the  drama  and  the  stage  ! 

"We  have  never  joined  in  the  hue  and  cry  against 
Mrs.  Forrest.  That  she  erred  in  judgment,  acted  without 
reflection,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  A  jury  has  pronounced 
her  innocent,  but  let  her  glance  back;  let  her  review  calmly 
and  dispassionately  a  career  of  life  commenced  under  the 
brightest  and  most  cheering  of  prospects ;  let  her  recall 
those  happy  moments  when,  with  youth  and  innocence, 
she  clasped  the  noble  form  and  heart  of  the  husband  of  her 
choice  to  her  arms — then  contrast  the  rest.  If  the  fault 
was  mutual  which  first  chilled  the  '  fever  of  love,'  mutual 
should  have  been  their  resolve ;  the  man  might  have  de 
viated — the  man  could  have  forsook  his  home  and  found 
peace,  such  as  it  was,  in  other  places,  but  the  wife  never. 

"But  alas!  from  out  of  this  strange  and  mixed-up  affair, 
what  has  not  come  ?  The  victim,  the  sufferer  to  English 
habits  and  customs  is  our  countryman,  our  townsman;  the 
vices  of  that  school,  have  nearly  corrupted  our  own ;  and 
it  is  now  the  duty  of  the  American  people  to  ask  the  ques 
tion — How  much  longer  will  we  tolerate  English  vice  and 
immorality  on  the  stage  f 

"  In  the  city  of  New  York,  there  have  been  managers  of 
theatres,  whose  histories  are  the  best  commentaries  that 
can  be  offered  or  given  on  English  dramatic  habits,  man 
ners  and  customs.  Connected  with  these  men  are  the 
wives  of  some  dozen  poor  debased  actors,  whose  habits 
and  contemptibility  are  such  that  the  crimes  of  their  bet 
ter  halves  are  as  nothing.  It  is  from  such  a  state  of  things 
many  of  our  national  vices  spring.  But  how  is  it  when  an 
American  actor  is  accused  of  such  a  thing !  How  is  it 
when  he  asks  for  redress  from  domestic  evils  !  Does  the 
law  wink  at  his  acts  as  it  does  at  those  of  the  English  ! 
Oh,  no — he  is  persecuted  and  prosecuted — perjury,  and  the 
combined  efforts  of  the  clique  that  rules  in  Gotham,  are  all 
brought  to  bear ;  and  thus,  while  vice  and  immorality  are 
winked  at,  and  sanctioned  when  they  are  confined  to  for- 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORBEST.  353 

eigners,  an  AMERICAN"  ACTOR  is  MADE  TO  PAY  THREE 
THOUSAND  DOLLARS  per  annum  to  sustain  the  cause  of 
these  English  customs  in  our  midst ! " 

Such  was  the  state  of  the  stage  at  the  period 
named  and  from  out  of  which  came  the  "  Forrest  Divorce 
Case."  Is  it  therefore  to  be  wondered  at,  that  a  deep- 
rooted  prejudice  against  the  stage  should  be  the  result 
of  these  abuses. 

New  York  and  Brooklyn,  at  the  present  writing, 
are  sad  illustrations  of  this  state  of  things,  the  pub 
lication  of  which  in  the  papers,  has  shocked  the 
whole  country,  as  high-toned  men  and  women  are 
scandalously  mixed  up.  The  demon  of  Free  Love 
has  napped  his  wings  in  triumph  over  cities  once 
celebrated  for  their  moral  and  religious  tendencies. 
In  many  cases  a  divorce  is  not  asked  for  by  parties 
guilty  of  unlawful  acts,  for  it  not  unfrequently  hap 
pens  that  man  and  wife  are  equally  culpable,  and 
an  exposure  would  only  tend  to  a  conviction  of 
both.  In  the  "Forrest  Divorce  Case,"  both  hus 
band  and  wife  accused  each  other  of  the  grossest 
misconduct.  A  verdict,  however,  was  given  in  favor 
of  the  wife,  and  the  court  ordered  her  husband  to 
pay  three  thousand  dollars  alimony  per  annum;  the 
lady  was  declared  innocent  by  verdict  of  the  jury. 
If  the  law  admitted  her  claim  to  a  wife's  share 
of  the  husband's  property  then  —  a  law  peculiar, 
probably,  to  New  York — what  hinders  her  from  obtain 
ing  the  same,  if  not  all  of  his  property  now  ?  She  is, 
de  facto,  the  sole  heir,  as  no  relative  of  the  deceased 
lives  to  claim  it,  or  is  any  blood  relation  named  in  the 
will.  The  court  sustained  her  then ;  why  not  sustain 
her  now  ?  If  it  was  right  before  the  death  of  Mr.  For- 
22 


354  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORREST. 

rest,  is  it  not  right  now  ?  It  may  be  asked  here,  why 
the  divorce  was  not  granted  in  our  State  when  brought 
before  the  Legislature.  We  regret  to  say,  and  it  is 
with  feelings  of  deep  sorrow  we  assert  the  fact,  it  was 
because  Mr.  Forrest  was  too  honorable  to  yield  to  the 
demand  of  some  of  its  members  for  "  certain  considera 
tions"  before  the  question  was  brought  before  them. 
A  member  of  the  Legislature  told  the  writer  of  this, 
and  others,  that  for  five  thousand  dollars  he  could  have 
had  the  bill  passed!  This  man  was  friendly  to  Mr. 
Forrest,  and  was  willing  to  serve  him,  and  for  that  sum 
he  could  have  the  whole  thing  settled.  Where  is  a 
man  to  look  for  justice  when  he  has  to  pay  his  way  to 
the  very  portals  of  legislative  halls  ?  Hence  we  infer 
that  this  same  sort  of  influence  would  have  materially 
changed  the  aspect  of  the  case  in  New  York.  It  was 
not  used ;  hence  the  result. 

As  we  have  stated,  it  is  not  our  purpose  to  go  over 
the  whole  ground  of  this  case ;  but  in  justice  to  the 
memory  of  Mr.  Forrest,  it  is  necessary  to  give  here  the 
cause  which  induced  him  to  propose  a  separation  from 
his  wife.  Sometime  before  the  trial,  in  open  court,  the 
proposition  was  to  this  effect ;  to  avoid  scandal,  he 
would  allow  her  fifteen  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  to 
all  of  which  she  agreed,  and  for  awhile  the  terms  were 
strictly  adhered  to.  As  the  first  grounds  of  suspicion 
a  husband  has  of  a  wife's  infidelity,  are  either  true  or 
false,  the  proof  of  the  latter  should  be  positive  before 
a  single  movement  on  hie  part  should  be  made.  Cir 
cumstances  not  unfrequently  have  placed  an  innocent 
woman  in  a  false  position  in  the  sight  of  her  husband, 
whose  hasty  conclusions  have  entailed  upon  both,  long 
mental  agony  and  physical  suffering.  It  was  not  so  in 


LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FOftEEST.  355 

Mr.  Forrest's  case.     Let  us  give  his  version  of  the  first 
cause  which  led  him  to  suspect  his  wife's  infidelity. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

THE    FIRST-CAUSE   OF    SUSPICION. — STARTLING   DISCLO 
SURES. JAMIESON    AT  BAY. THE  PHRENOLOGIST. 

THE      DISCOVERY. PRIVATE      DRAWER. THE     LET 
TER. SEPARATION.  —  MR.     FORREST'S     LETTER     TO 

HIS   WIFE. 

IN  the  year  1848,  Mr.  Forrest  went  to  perform  a 
professional  engagement  in  Cincinnati,  and  was  ac 
companied  by  Mrs.  Forrest  and  Mr.  Jamieson.  During 
this  visit,  on  the  31st  of  May,  1848,  Mr.  Forrest  left 
his  hotel  for  an  hour,  for  the  purpose  of  having  his  por 
trait  taken,  but,  disappointed  by  the  artist,  he  returned 
suddenly.  We  will  let  him  tell  the  rest:  "When  I 
entered  my  private  parlor  in  the  City  Hotel,  I  preceded 
S.  S.  Smith,  who  was  with  me,  some  yards,  and  found 
Mrs.  Forrest  standing  between  the  knees  of  Mr.  Jamie- 
son,  who  was  sitting  on  the  sofa,  with  his  hands  upon 
her  person.  I  was  amazed  and  confounded,  and  asked 
what  it  meant.  Mrs.  Forrest  replied,  with  consider 
able  perturbation,  that  Mr.  Jamieson  had  been  point 
ing  out  her  phrenological  developments.  Being  of  an 
unsuspicious  nature,  and  anxious  to  believe  that  it  was 
nothing  more  than  an  act  of  imprudence  on  her  part,  I 
was  for  a  time  quieted  by  this  explanation.  After  we 
left  Cincinnati,  I  observed  that  Mrs.  Forrest  carefully 
preserved  about  her  person  a  bundle  of  letters ;  and 


356  LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FORREST. 

although  it  was  unusual  for  her  to  do  so,  it  made  no 
very  material  impression  upon  me  at  the  time.  In  the 
month  of  January,  1849,  Mrs.  Forrest  went  to  a  party 
at  her  sister's  (Mrs.  Voorhees),  and  I  remained  at 
home.  In  the  course  of  the  evening  I  opened  a  drawer 
with  a  key  in  my  possession,  and  found  the  bundle  of 
letters  I  had  seen  Mrs.  Forrest  preserve  with  so  much 
care.  They  were,  with  but  one  exception,  letters  writ 
ten  by  Mrs.  Voorhees  to  Mrs.  Forrest.  Among  them 
was  the  letter,  in  the  handwriting  of  George  W.  Jamie- 
son,  written  to  her  under  the  soubriquet  of  (  Consuelo.' 
Shortly  afterwards,  I  charged  her  with  having  received 
this  letter  from  Mr.  Jamieson,  when  she  acknowledged 
that  Mr.  Jamieson  gave  it  to  her  while  we  were  on 
board  a  steamboat,  and  about  to  leave  Cincinnati  for 
Pittsburg."  [The  time  referred  to  by  Mrs.  Forrest, 
when  she  received  this  letter  from  Jamieson,  was  on 
the  14th  of  May,  1848.] 

"  I  further  state  that  the  facts  set  forth  in  my 
petition  for  a  divorce,  and  presented  to  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives  of  Pennsylvania,  are 
just  and  true. 

"I  have  read  the  remonstrance  of  Mrs.  Forrest,  and 
solemnly  declare  that  the  statements  therein  made, 
especially  the  alleged  ground  of  separation,  are  untrue. 

"  Since  the  separation,  I  have  voluntarily  allowed 
her  the  sum  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  for 
her  support,  which  has  been  punctually  paid  her  in  ad 
vance.  My  present  income  is  about  forty-three  hun 
dred  dollars  per  annum. 

"  Since  I  was  about  nineteen  years  of  age,  I  have 
supported  my  mother's  family,  and  still  continue  to  do 
so.  I  do  not  state  this  to  claim  any  merit,  but  to  show 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  357 

that  I  have,  in  spite  of  all  her  grounds  of  complaint, 
made  to  Mrs.  Forrest  a  most  liberal  allowance  for  her 
support." 

Mr.  S.  S.  Smith,  in  his  deposition,  said :  "  On 
tho  clay  referred  to,  in  the  month  of  May,  at  Cincin 
nati,  I  was  present  when  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Forrest,  and 
Mr.  Jamieson  agreed  to  attend  an  interview  with  a 
phrenologist,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  At 
two  o'clock,  of  the  same  day,  I  went  with  Mr.  For 
rest  to  the  studio  of  an  artist,  with  whom  it  was  un 
derstood  he  was  to  sit  an  hour  for  his  portrait.  The 
painter  not  being  at  home,  Mr.  Forrest  and  I  immedi 
ately  and  unexpectedly  returned  to  the  City  Hotel. 
In  entering  the  hotel,  Mr.  Forrest  preceded  me 
about  ten  yards,  and  entered  his  private  parlor  a 
short  time  before  me. 

"  Upon  my  entrance,  I  found  Mr.  Jamieson  and  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Forrest  there.  Mr.  Jamieson  immediately 
afterwards,  notwithstanding  his  previous  engagement 
to  attend  the  phrenological  examination,  precipitately 
and  without  notice  left  the  room,  and  when  I  searched 
for  him  he  was  not  to  be  found  in  the  house  or  its  vi 
cinity.  I  have  known  Mr.  Forrest  well  for  many  years, 
and  after  the  interview  above  mentioned,  I  observed  a 
high  and  unusual  degree  of  excitement  on  the  part  of 
Mr.  Forrest  in  relation  to  his  wife — a  feeling  which, 
intimate  as  I  was  with  him  and  his  wife,  I  had  never 
witnessed  before.  I  firmly  believe  that  something 
must  have  been  observed  by  Mr.  Forrest  upon  his 
entrance  into  the  room,  in  the  position  or  deport 
ment  of  Mr.  Jamieson  and  Mrs.  Forrest,  which  pro 
duced  this  change  in  Mr.  Forrest.  Mr.  Forrest  walked 
more  rapidly  than  myself,  and  he  entered  the  room  so 


358  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

far  before  me,  that  I  had  no  opportunity  of  seeing  or 
knowing  what  it  was  that  produced  the  change  in  him. 
I  had  always  known  Mr.  Forrest  previously  as  a  most 
affectionate  and  confiding  husband,  but  from  that  time 
there  was  a  manifest  change  in  his  demeanor  towards 
his  wife." 

Mr.  Forrest  did  not  let  his  wife  know  that  he  had 
in  his  possession  the  celebrated  letter  of  "Consuelo" 
notoriety,  immediately  after  her  return  from  the  party 
alluded  to,  as  the  following  evidence,  given  on  the  trial, 
will  show.  What  his  feelings  were,  can  be  better 
imagined  than  described.  One  of  the  witnesses  said : — 

"  Mr.  Forrest  remained  at  home,  alone ;  during  the 
evening  I  heard  him  walking  up  and  down,  rapidly,  in 
his  library  and  bedroom ;  and  I  thought,  from  his 
disturbed  manner,  that  he  was  uneasy,  and  had  some 
thing  on  his  mind.  I  went  to  bed  about  twelve  o'clock, 
and  before  Mrs.  Forrest  had  returned.  Mrs.  Forrest 
returned  about  two  o'clock,  A.  M." 

Another  witness,  the  house-keeper,  stated  "  that 
there  was  a  violent  altercation  between  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Forrest,  in  the  library,  and  that  it  lasted  a  long  time. 
In  the  course  of  the  same  day,  Catharine  Forrest  told 
me,  substantially,  what  one  of  the  servants  had  said ; 
'  that  she  had  had  an  angry  dispute  the  night  before 
•with  her  husband ;  that  she  had  never  seen  him  so 
much  excited  before ;  that  he  said  something  terrible 
was  going  to  happen ;  and  she  could  not  tell  what  he 
meant/ 

"  On  the  morning  in  question,  Mrs.  Forrest  went  to 
the  bottom  drawer  of  one  of  the  bureaus,  which  was 
always  kept  locked,  and  began  to  examine  some  papers 
which  it  contained,  when,  of  a  sudden  she  started  back 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORREST.  359 

and  exclaimed,  '  Good  God,  what  a  fool  sister  Ratten 
is  ! '  I  then  went  out  of  the  bedroom  into  the  library. 
Almost  immediately  after,  I  returned  and  said  to  II<T, 
(  Why,  what  is  the  matter  with  you  ? '  to  which  Mrs. 
Forrest  replied,  c  He  has  got  that  letter/  She  then 
said  something  about  Mr.  Jamieson  and  '  Consuelo,' 
and  continued,  'now  I  know  what  he  meant  by  the 
conversation  we  had  together,  it  is  separation/  Mrs. 
Forrest  then  went  immediately  to  another  drawer, 
which  she  unlocked ;  it  contained  some  letters  ;  then 
she  said,  '  I  am  glad  he  did  not  open  this  drawer,  he 
might  have  found  some  more  letters/  And  the  same 
clay,  in  my  presence,  Mrs.  Forrest  destroyed  a  quantity 
of  letters  and  papers  which  she  took  from  that  drawer. 
A  few  days  afterwards,  Mrs.  Forrest  said  to  me,  that 
Mr.  Forrest  had  told  her  (Mrs.  Forrest)  the  night  be 
fore,  that  he  had  found  the  letter  from  Mr.  Jamieson 
and  had  determined  to  separate  from  her/' 

Edwin  Forrest  and  his  wife  separated  on  the  first 
day  of  May,  1849,  both  leaving  the  house  on  Twenty- 
Second  Street.  We  have  adverted  to  the  cause  or 
causes  leading  to  this  unfortunate  termination  of  what, 
at  first,  promised  a  long  and  happy  wedded  life.  But 
there  are  some  other  facts  necessary  to  allude  to  here, 
as  having  a  powerful  bearing  on  the  part  of  the 
wronged  husband  to  demand  such  a  separation.  Mrs. 
Forrest,  in  the  absence  of  her  husband,  was  in  the 
habit  of  keeping  open  house,  and  several  of  her  friends 
were  in  the  habit  of  staying  late  at  night.  Among 
these,  were  Capt.  Calcraft  and  young  Richard  Willis. 
These  two,  according  to  a  witness,  "remained  in  the 
house  till  two  or  three  o'clock  in  the  morning."  The 
same  witness  stated  "  that  in  the  fall  of  the  year  1848, 


360  LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FOEREST. 

Mr.  Kichard  Willis  was  secreted  in  the  house  for  three 
days." 

Mr.  James  Lawson,  in  his  evidence  at  the  trial, 
wherein  he  stated  that  he  endeavored  to  reconcile  the 
parties,  said  :  "  I  first  became  acquainted  with  Edwin 
Forrest  in  the  fall  of  1826,  and  ever  since  I  have  been 
on  terms  of  the  closest  intimacy  with  him.  I  have 
known  Mrs.  Forrest,  wife  of  said  Edwin  Forrest,  since 
the  first  day  of  her  arrival  in  this  country,  namely,  in 
the  fall  of  1837. 

"  Until  the  month  of  January,  1849,  I  always 
thought  and  believed  that  the  said  Edwin  Forrest  and 
his  wife  lived  on  terms  of  kindness  and  affection.  Mr. 
Forrest  always  treated  his  wife  with  great  tenderness. 
In  the  said  month  of  January,  I  first  heard  from  Mrs. 
Forrest,  that  a  separation  between  her  and  her  hus 
band  was  resolved  on ;  about  the  last  of  April  fol 
lowing,  they  parted. 

"  In  my  interview  with  Mrs.  Forrest,  endeavoring 
to  obtain  concessions  which  I  thought  important  to 
bring  about  a  reconciliation  with  Mr.  Forrest,  she  said  : 
'  You  are  working  in  the  dark ;  you  do  not  know  what 
you  are  striving  at;  for  it  is  an  impossibility  that 
Mr.  Forrest  and  I  can  ever  live  together  as  man  and 
wife/  *  *  On  or  about  the  second  of  November 
last,  when  at  an  interview,  Mrs.  Forrest  had  consented 
to  send  her  sister  (Mrs.  Voorhees),  from  her  house  in 
Sixteenth  Street — which  I  thought  a  necessary  step 
before  the  question  touching  the  reconciliation  could 
be  put  to  Mr.  Forrest — I  asked  Mrs.  Forrest:  'Now, 
since  we  have  come  to  this  point,  pray  tell  me  who  was 
wrong  in  that  unknown  cause  which  separated  you. 
I  do  not  ask  the  cause;  for  that,  you  say,  is  never 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEREST.  361 

to  be  told.  But,  Avho  was  wrong  ? '  Mrs.  Forrest  an 
swered  ;  '  I  was/  To  this  I  remarked :  '  I  am  glad  to 
hear  you  say  so ;  for  confession  is  the  first  step  to  re 
pentance/  "  etc. 

To  which  we  annex  the  sworn  statement  of  the 
Rev.  E.  L.  Magoon  : — 

Elias  Lyman  Magoon,  of  the  city  of  New  York, 
being  duly  sworn  and  examined,  said :  "  I  am  a  minis 
ter  of  the  Baptist  Church ;  I  have  been  acquainted  with 
Edwin  Forrest  and  Catharine  his  wife,  for  about  twelve 
years,  and  I  have  heretofore  supposed  them  both 
eminently  worthy  of  my  highest  personal  esteem ;  I 
first  became  acquainted  with  the  said  Edwin  Forrest 
and  wife  at  Richmond,  in  the  State  of  Virginia,  where 
I  then  resided ;  afterwards  I  removed  to  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  and  there  resided  until  I  removed  again  to  this 
city. 

"  During  this  time,  I  have  met  Mr.  Forrest  and  his 
wife  at  Richmond,  Cincinnati,  in  London,  Paris,  and 
at  his  house  in  this  city,  and  always  on  terms  of  per 
sonal  intercourse  and  intimacy ;  until  recently,  and 
within  about  a  year  past,  I  have  been  accustomed  to 
hear  nothing  from  said  Edwin  Forrest  and  wife  but  ex 
pressions  of  mutual  confidence,  and  to  see  nothing  be 
tween  them  but  indications  of  mutual  love  ;  some  time 
in  or  about  the  month  of  December.  1849,  the  said 
Catharine  Forrest  told  me  that  for  several  months  pre 
vious  to  her  late  separation,  she  and  her  husband  had 
known  each  other  only  as  brother  and  sister." 

Mr.  Forrest  gave  no  explanation  to  his  friends,  di 
rectly  or  indirectly,  as  to  the  cause  of  separation  of 
himself  and  wife,  and  would  hold  no  converse  whatever 
on  the  subject.  Subsequently,  however,  when  Mrs. 


362  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FOREEST. 

Forrest  began  to  give  her  reasons,  or  rather,  as  she 
said,  cause  of  separation,  Mr.  Forrest  said  to  a  friend, 
in  December,  1849,  that  the  real  cause  of  the  separa 
tion  of  himself  and  wife  was  his  conviction  of  her  in 
fidelity!  On  December  24th,  1849,  Mr.  Forrest  de 
termined  to  end  the  unpleasant  position  in  which  he 
was  placed,  and  give  the  public  the  true  cause  of  the 
separation — preparatory  to  which  he  sent  to  Mrs.  For 
rest  the  following  letter,  as  found  in  the  testimony  of 
the  "Forrest  Divorce  Case"  before  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
Pennsylvania. 

LETTER  OF  EDWIN  FORREST  TO  MRS.  FORREST. 

"  I  am  compelled  to  address  you  by  reports  and  rumors 
that  reach  me  from  every  side,  and  which  a  due  respect 
for  my  own  character  compels  me  not  to  disregard.  You 
cannot  forget  that,  before  we  parted,  you  obtained  from  me 
a  solemn  pledge  that  I  would  say  nothing  of  the  guilty 
cause — the  guilt  alone  on  your  part — not  on  mine — which 
led  to  our  separation.  You  cannot  forget  that,  at  the  same 
time,  you  also  pledged  yourself  to  a  like  silence — a  silence 
which  I  supposed  you  would  be  glad  to  have  preserved. 
But  I  understand  from  various  sources,  and  in  ways  that 
cannot  deceive  me,  that  you  have  repeatedly  disregarded 
that  promise,  and  are  constantly  assigning  false  reasons  for 
our  separation,  and  making  statements  in  regard  to  it,  in 
tended  and  calculated  to  exonerate  yourself,  and  to  throw 
the  whole  blame  on  me,  and  necessarily  to  alienate  from 
me  the  respect  and  attachment  of  the  friends  I  have  left 
to  me.  Is  this  a  fitting  return  for  the  kindness  I  have 
ever  shown  you?  Is  this  your  gratitude  to  one  who, 
though  aware  of  your  guilt,  and  most  deeply  wronged,  has 
endeavored  to  shield  you  from  the  scorn  and  contempt  of 
the  world.  The  evidence  of  your  guilt,  you  know,  is  in 
my  possession.  I  took  that  evidence  from  among  your 
papers,  and  I  have  your  own  acknowledgment  by  whom 
it  was  written,  and  that  the  infamous  letter  was  addressed 
to  you.  You  know,  as  well  as  I  do,  that  the  cause  of  my 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FORREST.  363 

leaving  you  was  the  conviction  of  your  infidelity.  I  have 
paid  enough  to  make  the  object  of  this  letter  apparent.  I 
am  content  that  the  past  shall  remain  in  silence,  but  I  do 
not  intend,  nor  will  I  permit,  that  either  you  or  any  one 
connected  with  you  shall  ascribe  our  separation  to  my  mis 
conduct.  I  desire  you,  therefore,  to  let  me  know  at  once 
whether  you  have,  by  your  own  assertions,  or  by  sanction 
ing  those  of  others,  endeavored  to  throw  the  blame  of  our 
miserable  position  on  me.  My  future  conduct  will  depend 
upon  your  reply.  "  Once  yours, 

"[Signed]  "  EDWLN  FORREST. 

"New  York,  December,  24th,  1849." 


CHAPTEK   XXXIII. 

MRS.  FORREST'S  LETTER. — REPLY. — THE  CONSUELO  LET 
TER. — SKETCH  OF  GEORGE  JAMIESON. — HIS  FEAR 
FUL  DEATH. — RETRIBUTION ! 

IN  the  last  chapter  we  gave  Mr.  Forrest's  letter  ad 
dressed  to  his  wife.  We  now  give  the  lady's  an 
swer.  We  would  observe  here,  that  the  lady's  letters 
are  generally  written  in  a  style  of  elegance,  simplicity, 
and  apparent  innocence,  that  no  one  who  reads  them 
but  regrets  the  cause  that  led  to  their  publicity : 

MRS.  FORREST'S  ANSWER. 

"I  hasten  to  answer  the  letter  Mr.  Stevens  has  just 
left  with  me,  with  the  utmost  alacrity,  as  it  affords  me  at 
least  the  melancholy  satisfaction  of  correcting  misstate- 
ments,  and  of  assuring  you  that  the  various  rumors  and 
reports  which  have  reached  you  are  false. 

"  You  say  that  you  have  been  told,  that  I  am  '  con 
stantly  assigning  false  reasons  for  our  separation,  and 
making  statements  in  regard  to  it,  intended  and  calculated 


364  LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FORREST. 

to  exonerate  myself,  and  to  throw  the  whole  blame  on 
you ; '  this  I  beg  most  distinctly  to  state  is  utterly  untrue. 

"I  have,  when  asked  the  cause  of  our  sad  differences, 
invariably  replied,  that  was  a  matter  known  only  to  our 
selves,  and  which  would  never  be  explained;  and  I  neither 
acknowledge  the  right  of  the  world,  nor  of  our  most  inti 
mate  friends  to  question  our  conduct  in  this  aifair. 

"You  say,  'I  desire  you  therefore  to  let  me  know  at 
once  whether  you  have  by  your  own  assertions,  or  by  sanc 
tioning  those  of  others,  endeavored  to  throw  the  blame  of 
our  miserable  position  on  me.'  I  most  solemnly  assert 
that  I  have  never  done  so,  directly  or  indirectly;  nor  has 
any  one  connected  with  me  ever  made  such  assertions  with 
my  knowledge ;  nor  have  I  ever  permitted  any  one  to  speak 
of  you  in  my  presence  with  censure  or  disrespect.  I  am 
glad  you  have  enabled  me  to  reply  directly  to  yourself 
concerning  this,  as  it  must  be  evident  to  you  that  we  are 
both  in  a  position  to  be  misrepresented  to  each  other;  but 
I  cannot  help  adding,  that  the  tone  of  your  letter  wounds 
me  deeply;  a  few  months  ago  you  would  not  have  written 
thus.  But  in  this  neither  do  I  blame  you;  but  those  who 
have  for  their  own  motives  poisoned  your  mind  against  me 
— this  is  surely  an  unnecessary  addition  to  my  sufferings; 
but  while  I  suffer  I  feel  the  strong  conviction  that  some 
day,  perhaps  one  so  distant  that  it  may  no  longer  be  pos 
sible  for  us  to  meet  on  this  earth,  your  own  naturally 
noble  and  just  mind  will  do  me  justice,  and  that  you  will 
believe  in  the  affection  which  for  twelve  years  has  never 
swerved  from  you.  I  cannot  nor  would  I  endeavor  to 
subscribe  myself  other  than 

"  Yours,  now  and  ever, 
"[Signed]  "CATHARINE  N.  FORREST. 

"Dec.  24th,  1849." 

Mr.  Forrest  never  alluded  to  his  wife  or  cause  of 
separation,  after  the  amicable  settlement  alluded  to. 
Mr.  Andrew  Stevens,  in  his  evidence,  stated  that 
"during  the  summer  of  the  year  1849,  I  was  in  the 
habit  of  spending  my  Sundays  with  Mr.  Forrest,  but 
he  made  no  explanation,  directly  or  indirectly,  as  to 
the  cause  of  the  separation  of  himself  and  his  wife,  and 


LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FORKEST.  365 

would  hold  no  conversation  whatever  on  the  subject 
with  me.  I  remained  in  absolute  ignorance,  so  far  as 
the  said  Forrest  was  concerned,  of  the  true  cause  of  the 
difficulty  between  himself  and  his  said  wife." 

In  a  second  letter  Mrs.  Forrest  sent,  as  given  in 
Schedule  B,  she  went  more  into  detail.  In  one  part 
she  said  : — "  You  know  as  well  as  I  do  that  there  can 
be  nothing  in  my  conduct  to  justify  those  gross  and 
unexpected  charges;  and  I  cannot  think  why  you 
should  now  seem  to  consider  a  foolish  and  anonymous 
letter  as  an  evidence  of  guilt." 

Mrs.  Forrest  closed  up  this  letter  in  the  following 
feeling  manner : 

"  I  cannot  believe  it,  and  implore  you,  Edwin,  for  God's 
sake,  to  trust  to  your  own  better  judgment;  and  as  I  am 
certain  that  your  heart  will  tell  you  I  could  not  seek  to 
injure  you,  so  likewise,  I  am  sure,  your  future  will  not  be 
brighter  if  you  succeed  in  crushing  me  more  completely, 
in  casting  disgrace  upon  one  who  has  known  no  higher 
pride  than  the  right  of  calling  herself  your  wife. 

"  [Signed]  "CATHARINE   N.   FORREST. 

"Dec.  29th,  1849." 

This  is  Mr.  Forrest's  answer  to  Mrs.  Forrest's  let 
ter,  marked  B: 

"  I  answer  your  letter  dated  the  29th,  and  received  by 
me  on  the  31st  ultimo,  solely  to  prevent  my  silence  from 
being  misunderstood. 

""Mr.  Godwin  has  told  me  that  the  tardy  reply  to  the 
most  material  part  of  mine  of  the  24th,  was  sent  by  his 
advice.  I  should  indeed  think  from  its  whole  tone  and 
character  that  it  was  written  under  instructions.  I  do 
not  desire  to  use  harsh  epithets  or  severe  language  to  you. 
It  can  do  no  good.  But  you  compel  me  to  say  that  all  the 
important  parts  of  yours  are  utterly  untrue.  It  is  utterly 
untrue  that  the  accusations  I  now  bring  against  you  are 
( new.'  It  is  utterly  untrue  that  since  the  discovery  of  that 
infamous  letter,  which  you  so  callously  call  '  foolish,'  I  have 


366  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

ever  in  any  way  expressed  my  belief  of  your  freedom  from 
guilt.  I  could  not  have  done  so,  and  you  know  that  I  have 
not  done  it.  But  I  cannot  carry  on  a  correspondence  of 
this  kind.  I  have  no  desire  to  injure  or  to  crush  you; 
the  fatal  wrong  has  been  done  to  me,  and  I  only  wish  to 
put  a  final  termination  to  a  state  of  things  which  has  de 
stroyed  my  peace  of  mind,  and  which  is  wearing  out  my 
life.  "[Signed]  " EDWIN"  FORREST. 

"New  York,^  Jan.  2nd,  1850." 

As  this  letter  closed  all  correspondence  between  the 
parties,  and  terminated  their  private  arrangements, 
and  resulted  in  a  trial  in  open  court  to  prove  charges 
made  against  the  lady  too  gross  for  publication,  we 
dismiss  the  whole  subject — the  worst  of  scandals,  and 
give  the  celebrated  Consuelo  letter,  the  first  cause  of 
Mr.  Forrest's  suspicions  of  his  wife's  infidelity.  We 
leave  it  to  any  husband — any  high-minded  man — to 
Bay,  if  finding  such  a  letter  in  the  possession  of  his 
wife,  whether  it  would  not  create  serious  cause  for  sus 
picion  ;  this  letter  speaks  for  itself,  and  so  we  end  this 
sad  episode  in  our  Keminiscences : 

LETTER    OF    MR.    JAMIESON    TO    MRS.     FORREST. 

"  And  now,  sweetest  Consuelo,  our  brief  dream  is  over 
— and  such  a  dream!  Have  we  not  known  real  bliss? 
Have  we  not  realized  what  poets  love  to  set  up  as  an  ideal 
state,  giving  full  license  to  their  imagination,  scarcely  believ 
ing  in  its  reality?  Have  we  not  experienced  the  truth 
that  ecstasy  is  not  a  fiction  ?  I  have,  and  as  I  will  not  per 
mit  myself  to  doubt  yovi,  am  certain  you  have.  And  oh  ! 
what  an  additional  delight  to  think — no,  to  know,  that  I 
have  made  some  hours  happy  to  you.  Yes,  and  that  re 
membrance  of  me  may  lighten  the  heavy  time  of  many  an 
hour  to  come.  Yes,  our  little  dream  of  great  account  is 
over,  reality  stares  us  in  the  face.  Let  us  peruse  its  fea 
tures.  Look  with  me,  and  read  as  I  do,  and  you  will  find 
our  dream  is  '  not  all  a  dream.'  Can  reality  take  from  us 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  367 

when  she  separates  and  exiles  us  from  "each  other  ?  Can 
she  divide  our  souls — our  spirits  ?  Can  Slander's  tongue 
or  Humor's  trumpet  summon  us  to  a  parley  with  ourselves, 
where  to  doubt  each  other  we  should  hold  a  council?  No! 
no /  a  doubt  of  thee  can  no  more  find  harbor  in  my  brain 
than  the  opened  rose  could  cease  to  be  the  hum-bird's 
harbor.  And  as  my  heart  and  soul  are  in  your  possession, 
examine  them  and  you  will  find  no  text  from  which  to  dis 
course  a  doubt  of  me.  But  you  have  told  me  (and  oh ! 
what  music  did  your  words  create  upon  my  grateful  ear), 
that  you  would  not  doubt  me.  With  these  considerations, 
dearest,  our  separation,  though  painful,  will  not  be  unen 
durable  ;  and  if  a  sombre  hour  should  intrude  itself  upon 
you,  banish  it  by  knowing  there  is  one  who  is  whispering 
to  himself,  Consuelo.  There  is  another  potent  reason  why 
you  should  be  happy — that  is,  having  been  the  means  of 
another's  happiness,  for  I  am  happy,  and  with  you  to  re 
member,  and  the  blissful  anticipation  of  seeing  you  again, 
shall  remain  so.  I  wish  I  could  tell  you  my  happiness.  I 
cannot.  No  words  have  been  yet  invented  that  could 
convey  an  idea^of  the  depth  of  that  passion,  composed  of 
pride,  admiration,  awe,  gratitude,  veneration  and  love, 
without  being  earthy,  that  I  feel  for  you. 

"  Be  happy,  dearest ;  write  to  me  and  tell  me  you  are 
happy.  Think  of  the  time  when  we  shall  meet  again. 
Believe  that  I  shall  do  my  utmost  to  be  worthy  of  your 
love  :  and  now,  God  bless  you,  a  thousand  times  my  own, 
my  heart's  altar. 

"  I  would  say  more,  but  must  stow  away  my  shreds  and 
tinsel  patches — ugh  !  how  hideous  they  look  after  thinking 
of  you. 


"  Adieu  !  adieu  !  and  when  thou  art  gone, 
My  joy  shall  be  made  up  alone, 
Of  calling  back  with  fancy's  charm, 
Those  halcyon  hours  when  in  my  arm, 

Clasp'd  Consuelo. 


"  Adieu  1  adieu !  be  thine  each  joy, 
That  earth  can  yield  without  alloy, 
Shall  be  the  earnest  constant  pray'r 
Of  him  who  in  his  heart  shall  wear, 

But  Consuelo. 


368  LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOEEEST. 

"  Adieu  !  adieu !  when  next  we  meet, 
Will  not  all  sadness  then  retreat, 
And  yield  the  conquer' d  time  to  bliss, 
And  seal  the  triumph  with  a  kiss, 

Say,  Consuelo  ?  * 


We  have  said  this  trial  ended  the  sad  episode  in 
the  life  of  Mr.  Forrest ;  but,  alas  !  not  its  conse 
quences.  The  verdict  was  rendered  by  the  jury  on  the 
24th  of  January,  1852,  adding  thereto  :  "  and  that  the 
alimony  to  be  allowed  to  the  said  plaintiff  shall  be 
three  thousand  dollars  per  year."  Perhaps,  this  side  of 
Hades,  no  such  verdict  was  ever  rendered  ;  the  defend 
ant  was  actually  found  guilty  of  the  very  charges 
brought  against  the  plaintiff,  she  was  found  not  guilty 
of  adultery  in  the  fifth  question  in  the  specification, 
and  the  defendant  was  so  declared  on  the  first  and  third 
to  have  been  the  guilty  party  ! 

In  heathen  mythology  it  is  said  there  are  judges  in 
hell  who  hold  court  in  the  tribunal  opposite  the  en 
trance  of  the  infernal  regions ;  on  it  were  seated  Minos, 
Khadamanthus  and  jEacus.  The  imagination,  without 
any  extraordinary  degree  of  extravagance,  could  readily 
transfer  this  Court  of  Judges  to  New  York,  and  invest 
the  presiding  officers  of  an  earthly  tribunal  with  those 
of  Tartarus. 

Mr.  Forrest  appealed  from  this  decision,  and  used 
every  effort  to  defeat  the  order  of  the  court ;  appealed 
to  higher  courts,  and  failed ;  a  final  verdict  compelled 
him  to  pay  the  full  amount,  and  to  her  allowance  as 
alimony  one  thousand  dollars  more,  making  in  all  an 
annual  income  of  four  thousand  dollars  !  This  amount 
was  faithfully  paid  up  to  the  day  of  his  death,  and 
which  the  executors  still  continue  to  pay.  What  will 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  3(J9 

be  the  result  of  Mrs.  Forrest's  future  claim  upon  his 
property  can  only  be  decided  by  the  courts. 

GEORGE  JAMIESON. 

As  this  individual's  name  is  mixed  up  in  the  For 
rest  Divorce  Case,  as  one  who  took  a  leading  part  in 
destroying  the  peace  and  happiness  of  the  man  who  had 
been  his  friend — loaned  him  money,  and  befriended  him 
every  way — something  of  his  history  may  not  be  out  of 
place  here.  We  knew  this  man  Jamieson;  he  was 
what  we  should  call  a  bon-vivant,  fond  of  good  living 
and  drinking  at  the  expense  of  others.  He  was,  how 
ever,  a  first-class  boon  companion.  We  were  at  a  pri 
vate  dinner  given  in  New  Orleans  to  a  favorite  come 
dian.  Jamieson  was  present.  He  was  the  life  of  the 
company — gave  imitations  of  actors,  sung  comic  songs, 
imitated  the  negro  minstrels ;  in  fact,  delighted  and 
amused  all  who  were  present.  The  next  night  he 
played  Macbeth  in  a  manner  that  surprised  those  who, 
on  the  evening  previous,  were  amused  at  his  comic 
alities. 

George  Jamieson  was  born  in  New  York,  in  1812, 
and  made  his  debut  in  his  native  city,  January  23rd, 
1837,  in  a  farce  called  The  Chameleon,  in  which  he  per 
sonated  five  characters.  It  was  on  the  occasion  of  the 
benefit  of  Charles  Eaton,  at  that  time  a  young  trage 
dian.  In  1839,  he  became  a  member  of  the  National 
Theatre,  at  the  corner  of  Church  and  Leonard  Streets, 
New  York.  He  first  appeared  in  Philadelphia,  Octo 
ber  9th,  1840,  at  the  National  Theatre.  In  1861  he 
visited  England.  Returning  to  this  country,  he  ap 
peared  with  much  success  at  the  Winter  Garden  Thea 
tre,  New  York,  as  Pete,  in  the  Octoroon.  Jamieson 
23 


370  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORKEST. 

was  well  known  in  the  dramatic  profession — unreliable, 
careless,  and  regardless  of  the  proprieties  of  dramatic, 
social,  or  moral  life.  He  met  with  a  sudden  and  awful 
death,  October  3rd,  1868,  near  Yonkers,  by  being  run 
over  by  a  Hudson  Kiver  Eailroad  train.  Was  it 
retribution  ? 

"  Where  be  your  jibes  now  ?  your  gambols  ?  your 
Songs  ?  your  flashes  of  merriment,  that  were 
Wont  to  set  the  table  in  a  roar  ?  " 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

AFTER  THE  TRIAL. — HIS  APPEARANCE  AT  THE  BROAD 
WAY  THEATRE. RECEPTION. — SPEECH. FIRST  AP 
PEARANCE  OF  MRS.  CATHARINE  N.  SINCLAIR  (FOR 
REST)  AS  AN  ACTRESS. — AN  OLD  PLAY-BILL. — UN 
JUST  CRITICISM. — MR.  FORREST  AS  AN  ARTIST. 

~A/TR.  FORKEST  was  not  idle  during  the  progress 
-*^-L  of  the  trial,  he  was  fulfilling  his  engagements  in 
various  portions  of  the  country,  and  found  friends  and 
sympathizers  everywhere. 

The  Broadway  Theatre,  New  York,  under  the  man 
agement  of  Mr.  Marshall,  with  Thomas  Barry,  formerly 
of  the  Park,  for  stage  manager,  re-opened  on  the  27th 
of  August,  1851,  with  an  excellent  company. 

On  the  15th  of  September,  1851,  Mr.  Forrest  made 
his  first  appearance  in  two  years,  at  that  theatre,  as 
Damon,  and  his  last  on  the  27th,  as  Spartacus.  These 
two  characters  were  always  received  by  the  audience 
with  much  applause,  and  were  considered  the  most 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  371 

striking  pictures  of  the  histrionic  art  that  were  ever 
presented  on  the  stage.  We  have  already  alluded  to 
them  in  former  parts  of  these  Reminiscences.  We  now 
come  to  another  very  important  era  in  the  life  of  Mr. 
Forrest ;  it  is  his  first  appearance  after  the  termination 
of  his  divorce  suit,  January  24th,  1852. 

In  despite  of  the  verdict,  and  all  the  evidence  pro 
duced  on  the  trial  against  him,  there  were  but  few  who 
placed  implicit  confidence  in  that  to  which  some  of  the 
witnesses  swore.  Indeed,  the  same  may  be  said  of 
those  who  gave  evidence  against  the  lady.  Public 
opinion  was  about  equally  divided,  and  each  had  the 
benefit  of  the  doubt. 

February  9th,  1852,  he  commenced  as  Damon. 
This  engagement  lasted  sixty-nine  consecutive  nights, 
during  which  time  the  houses  were  crowded.  On  his 
entrance,  the  first  night,  bouquets  were  showered  upon 
the  stage.  Small  American  flags  were  thrown,  and, 
mingling  with  the  flowers,  made  the  whole  scene 
appear  as  a  garden.  A  large  flag  was  also  displayed 
in  the  parquette,  with  this  motto : — "  This  is  our 
verdict  1 " 

Mr.  Forrest  was  called  before  the  curtain  and  made 
a  brief  speech,  as  pensive  as  it  was  effective  ;  he  made 
no  allusion  to  the  past,  but  he  spoke  of  the  drama,  and 
its  future  prospects,  cherished  as  it  would  be  by  such 
intelligence  as  evidently  was  now  maturing  the  sensa 
tional  literature  of  the  day,  fostered  with  care,  its 
future  destiny  could  easily  be  foretold. 

In  conclusion  he  said  : — "  I  thought  my  path  was 
covered  with  thorns,  but  I  find  you  have  strewed  it 
with  roses."  This  engagement  was  the  longest,  as  well 
as  the  most  memorable,  ever  recorded  in  the  history  of 


372  LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

the  stage.  The  house— one  of  the  largest  and  most 
magnificent  in  America — was  crowded  nightly  to  the 
utmost  of  its  capacity,  and  with  audiences  whose 
enthusiasm  remained  unabated. 

On  the  fiftieth  night  of  this  engagement  there  was 
a  jubilee.  The  theatre  was  illuminated  in  front ;  an 
appropriate  transparency  was  exhibited  ;  many  persons 
in  the  neighborhood,  sympathizing  with  the  general 
feeling,  illuminated  their  dwellings.  Inside  there  was 
one  continued  triumph  for  the  great  actor,  while  the 
street  was  crowded  by  admiring  thousands,  who  could 
not  gain  admittance. 

Before  Mr.  Forrest  again  appeared  at  the  "  Broad 
way,"  another  event  took  place,  which  possessed  a  de 
gree  of  interest  almost  equal  to  that  of  the  one  given. 
It  was  the  first  appearance  of  Mrs.  Catharine  N.  Sin 
clair  on  any  stage,  the  22nd  of  February,  1852,  at 
Brougham's  Lyceum,  New  York,  as  Lady  Teazle,  in 
The  School  for  Scandal,  with  Chippendale,  Lynne,  0. 
Mason,  Walcott,  Brougham,  Skerrett,  and  Mrs.  Maeder 
in  the  cast.  Mrs.  Sinclair's  debut  was  a  triumphant 
one,  and  her  performance  of  Lady  Teazle  attracted  full 
audiences  for  eight  successive  nights.  She  subse 
quently  appeared  as  Pauline,  Margaret  Elmore,  Lady 
Mabel  and  Beatrice,  but  without  a  corresponding  suc 
cess.  Had  she  sustained  these  several  characters  as 
well  as  she  did  that  of  Lady  Teazle,  there  is  not  the 
least  doubt  that  she  would  have  been  a  leading  actress, 
if  not  a  star,  on  the  American  stage.  The  propriety  of 
her  appearance  on  the  stage,  at  this  critical  juncture, 
was  very  generally  questioned.  Mr.  George  Vanden- 
hoff,  who  had  been  her  instructor,  appeared  on  the 
23rd;  as  Claude  Melnotte.  Her  engagement  was  not 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  373 

what  might  be  termed  a  profitable  one.     The  season 
ended  abruptly  on  the  17th  of  March. 

The  Broadway  Theatre  reopened  on  the  30th  of 
August,  1852,  with  the  play  of  The  Hunchback.  On 
the  20th  of  September,  Mr.  Edwin  Forrest  appeared 
as  Richelieu ;  on  the  21st,  as  Damon ;  closing  on  the 
30th  of  October.  After  playing  at  Philadelphia  and 
elsewhere,  Mr.  Forrest  returned  to  New  York,  and 
commenced  another  engagement  at  the  Broadway 
Theatre,  February  24th,  1853,  opening  with  Othello. 
During  this  splendid  engagement  the  manager  pro 
duced  Macbeth,  May  2nd,  1853,  with  new  scenery  and 
dresses,  at  a  cost  of  $8.000,  taking  rank  with  Charles 
Kean's  getting  up  of  King  John  and  Richard  III. 
This  was  played  twenty  nights  in  succession.  We 
give  the  cast  as  played  on  that  occasion  -as  worthy  a 
place  in  the  records  of  our  stage  history. 

MACBETH MB.  FORREST. 

MACDUFF F.  CON  WAT. 

DUNCAN MR.  DUFF. 

MALCOLM A.  DAVENPORT. 

BANQUO C.  POPE. 

HECATE MR.  GROSVENOR. 

WITCHES DAVIDQE,  WHITING  AND  BARRY. 

LADY  MACBETH...  ...MRS.  PONISI. 


In  connection  with  this  cast,  we  will  give  that  of 
its  first  performance  in  this  country,  March  3rd,  1767 : 

MACBETH MR.  HALLAM. 

DUNCAN MR.  GRENVILLE. 

MACDUFF MR.  DOUGLAS. 

MALCOLM MR.  HENRY. 

BANQUO MR.  MORRIS. 

HECATE MR.  WOOLS. 

LADY  MACBETH Miss  CHEER. 

LADY  MACDUFF MRS.  DOUGLASS. 

The  names  in  this  cast  are  among  the  pioneers  of 


374  LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FORREST. 

the  drama  in  this  country;  they  are  all  familiar  to 
those  who  take  an  interest  in  our  early  stage  history. 

The  scene  of  Mr.  Forrest's  great  success  was  the 
Broadway  Theatre.  Whenever  his  name  was  an 
nounced,  it  was  the  precursor  to  crowded  houses. 
On  the  17th  of  April,  1854,  he  commenced  another 
long  engagement,  during  which  his  Virginius  won 
golden  opinions  from  all  sorts  of  people. 

Shortly  after  Mr.  Forrest's  first  appearance  after 
the  "divorce,"  certain  would-be  critics  made  some 
wonderful  discoveries  in  his  style  of  acting,  intimating 
also  that  his  readings  of  certain  passages  in  the  plays 
of  Shakespeare  were  so  emphasized  as  to  convey  allu 
sions  to  his  wife,  or,  at  least,  to  show  his  opinion  of 
women  generally.  These  absurd  constructions  became 
marked  features  by  those  who  are  too  apt  to  follow 
the  opinions  of  others,  rather  than  adopt  those  of 
their  own.  Not  only  this,  they  also  made  the  discovery 
that  Mr.  Forrest  was  not  the  great  actor  that  fame 
had  heralded.  He  was  accused  of  being  merely  a  phys 
ical  actor — "  a  vast  animal  bewildered  by  a  little 
grain  of  genius,"  "  a  muscular  tragedian  of  body 
without  brains."  Such  language,  uttered  at  a  time 
when  the  fame  of  the  great  actor  was  ringing  in  the 
ear  of  nations,  it  assumed  the  tone  of  personal  en 
mity,  rather  than  that  of  criticism.  With  us,  how 
ever,  criticism  had  not  attained  the  certainty  and 
stability  of  science.  With  such  low  expletives,  as 
given  above,  was  Mr.  Forrest  greeted  on  his  reap 
pearance,  and  by  whom  ?  A  few  hirelings  of  the 
press,  whose  ideas  of  criticism  were  based  on  their 
own  imperfect  knowledge  of  this  scientific  art.  They 
ridiculed  the  dramatic  powers  of  the  man  whose  genius 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FOREEST.  375 

had  flashed  over  two  hemispheres  —  the  man  whose 
voice  and  action  brought  back  to  a  London  audience 
the  echo  of  those  who  had  made  "Old  Drury"  a  classic 
temple — the  man  whose  Lear  paled  the  lustre  on  the 
laurelled  brow  of  a  Grarrick.  The  man  whose  Othello 
startled  an  English  audience,  and  as  one  of  their 
most  eminent  critics  said  :  "  The  effect  was  electric, 
and  shot  through  the  vast  assemblage  with  a  thrill 
of  terror." 

In  the  art  gallery  of  the  stage,  Mr.  Forrest's  splen 
did  pictures  of  Damon,  Virginius,  Coriolanus,  Kichard, 
Othello,  Hamlet,  Macbeth,  William  Tell,  Carwin, 
Lear,  Jack  Cade,  Spartacus,  Kichelieu,  and  others, 
will  always  be  referred  to  as  the  highest  specimens 
of  histrionic  talent. 

With  the  stage,  its  character  and  its  literature, 
the  name  and  fame  of  Edwin  Forrest  are  closely  con 
nected.  It  is  not  altogether  a  national  feeling  we 
have  upon  the  subject,  it  is  one  that  is  sustained  by 
the  most  accomplished  critics  in  this  country  and  in 
Europe,  which  induced  us  at  an  early  period  to  speak 
of  Mr.  Forrest's  acting  as  being  superior  to  that  of 
many  who,  with  far  less  genius,  elicited  fulsome 
praise  from  the  uninformed.  True  criticism  is  the 
proper  estimate  made  of  the  works  of  art  and  of 
letters ;  it  brings  with  it  a  warmth  of  feeling  which, 
genial-like,  makes  true  merit  blossom  in  the  sunshine 
it  throws  around  it.  It  is  the  rain  to  give  life  and 
vitality  to  the  early  seed,  the  light  to  consummate 
its  growth.  True  criticism  can  effect  this ;  the  false, 
never.  Hence,  criticism,  as  it  is  generally  received, 
must,  from  the  very  nature  of  men's  souls,  be  com 
mensurate  with  the  exercise  of  the  judgment.  A 


376  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

true  critic  is  one  who  examines  closely  his  own  feel 
ings  before  he  grasps  the  pen,  and  by  a  delicate  and 
nice  examination,  endeavors  to  discover  if  his  judg 
ment  would  endorse  the  motions  caused  by  the  ac 
tion  of  the  scene  and  the  incidents  of  the  story. 
This  is  considered  the  strongest  test  by  which  the 
truth  of  criticism  can  be  tried.  It  was  a  critical 
knowledge  of  nature  and  of  man  which  enabled 
Homer  and  Shakespeare  to  instruct  and  to  astonish. 
Few  critics  in  modern  times  have  been  enabled  to 
do  anything  of  the  kind;  hence,  we  have  no  standard 
of  criticism  among  us. 

Mr.  Forrest's  acting  has  seldom  been  tested  by 
the  rule  of  analysis ;  men  of  little  minds  could  never 
comprehend  the  genius  of  the  actor,  nor  the  truth 
fulness  of  his  art.  They  had  no  idea  of  its  being 
an  art  calculated  to  refine  taste,  exalt  the  mind,  and 
depict  with  a  true  artist's  skill  the  emotions  of  the 
heart  when  following  the  author  through  the  various 
phases  of  the  passions  evoked  by  the  "  cunning  of 
the  scene."  Perhaps  no  one  ever  imparted  so  much 
knowledge  of  the  drama  to  the  million  than  did  Mr. 
Forrest,  and  no  one  ever  studied  harder  to  attain 
the  power  to  do  so.  That  he  did  attain  it,  his  fame 
while  living,  and  the  tribute  paid  to  his  memory  are 
the  proofs. 

"  No  pyramids  set  off  his  memory, 
But  the  eternal  substance  of  his  greatness 
To  which  I  leave  him." 

We  have  alluded  to  certain  criticisms  on  Mr.  For 
rest's  acting  as  being  of  an  extremely  low  order  of 
that  art.  Caricature  an  artist,  and  you  insult  art; 
hold  up  the  learned  man  as  a  target  for  folly  to  fire 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  377 

at,  and  you  mislead  the  ignorant  in  regard  to  the 
source  of  education.  True  art  is  a  very  delicate 
subject  for  the  uninformed  to  write  about,  it  is  be 
yond  their  reach.  Can  they  follow  it  through  fields 
of  air — or  criticise  one 

"  Who  writes  his  name  on  clouds, 
And  treads  the  chambers  of  the  sky  ?  " 

or  follow  genius 

"  In  his  eagle  flight, 
Rich  dew  drops  sparkling  from  his  plumes  of  light  f  n 

We  think  not. 

The  stage  and  the  drama,  identified  with  all  that 
appertains  to  the  arts  and  sciences,  poetry,  painting 
and  music,  command  the  respect  of  all  who  value 
and  can  appreciate,  not  only  the  "best  words  of 
the  best  authors,"  but  all  those  pleasing  auxiliaries 
we  have  named. 


CHAPTER   XXXV. 

COMPLIMENTARY   BENEFIT     TO    JAMES   W.    WALLACE. 

MR.  FORREST  AS  CLAUDE  MELNOTTE. — THE  ORIGI 
NAL  IN  THE  CHARACTER. CAST. RETIRES  TO 

PRIVATE     LIFE. HOME     ON     BROAD     STREET. THE 

POOR  SOLDIER. — FORREST'S  LIBERALITY. —  RENEWS 
HIS  PROFESSION. — GREAT  SUCCESS  IN  SHAKES- 
PERIAN  CHARACTERS. 

MR.   FORREST'S    reputation   was    now    at    its 
height ;    he   was    acknowledged    the    greatest 
actor   living.     Every  engagement  was  a  perfect   ova- 


378  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FOEEEST. 

tion ;  he  not  only  mastered  all  the  difficulties  of  texts, 
annotations  and  criticisms  upon  Shakespeare,  but  over 
came  the  prejudices  of  those  who  had  for  years  re 
pudiated  native  talent.  This  was  his  final  triumph. 
From  his  first  reappearance  on  the  stage  after  the 
divorce,  up  to  the  year  1854,  his  career  was  a  brilliant 
one ;  he  was  emphatically  the  star  of  the  "  Mimic 
World/'  It  would  be  but  a  repetition  of  what  we 
have  already  said  were  we  to  follow  him  from  place  to 
place,  and  quote  the  note  of  praise  accompanying  his 
every  movement.  One  event  occurred  during  his 
engagement  in  New  York,  to  which  we  refer  with 
pleasure. 

On  the  29th  of  May,  1855,  a  complimentary  bene 
fit  was  given  to  James  W.  Wallack,  Sr.  This  event 
came  off  at  the  Academy  of  Music,  on  which  occasion 
Mr.  Forrest  deviated  from  a  course  he  had  strictly 
followed  for  years,  and  tendered  his  valuable  services 
to  one  of  the  most  finished  and  accomplished  actors 
of  the  day.  This  was  partly  in  return  for  the  kind 
ness  and  attention  that  gentleman  showed  him  while 
in  England,  and  that,  too,  at  a  time  when  friends 
were  most  needed.  For  this,  and  also  for  the  neces 
sities  of  the  veteran  actor,  he  broke  through  a  rule 
which  on  several  occasions  he  was  highly  censured  for 
adhering  to  so  strictly.  Among  the  names  of  those 
who  also  volunteered  on  that  occasion, were  Mr.  E.  L. 
Davenport,  Mr.  F.  Conway,  Mr.  Walcott,  Mr.  Henry 
Hall,  Mr.  Borani,  Miss  Louisa  Pyne,  Miss  Fanny  Yin- 
ing,  Mrs.  F.  Conway,  Mrs.  Buckland,  Miss  Kate  Reig- 
nolds ;  and  others  volunteered,  whose  services  could 
not  be  made  available.  The  play  was  Damon  and 
Pythias — Forrest  as  Damon,  and  Davenport  as  Pythias. 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  379 

On  the  27th  of  September,  1855,  Mr.  Forrest 
enacted  Claude  Melnotte,  a  character  we  thought  one 
of  the  finest  of  his  youthful  impersonations.  Mr.  For 
rest  was  the  first  Claude  Melnotte  in  this  country. 
It  was  produced  at  the  Park  Theatre,  on  the  14th  of 
May,  1838.  The  popularity  of  the  author,  and  the 
success  of  the  play  in  England,  and  being  its  first 
representation  in  this  country,  attracted  a  crowded 
house.  The  cast  was  perfect  in  every  respect : 

CLAUDE  MELNOTTE MR.  FORREST. 

COL.  DUMAS MR.  PLACIDE. 

BEAUSEANT MR.  RICHINGS. 

GLAVIS MR.  WIIEATLEY. 

DESCHAPELLE MR.  CLARKE. 

MME.  DESCHAPELLE MRS.  WHEATLEY. 

PAULINE MRS.  RICHARDSON. 

WIDOW  MELNOTTE Miss  CHARLOTTE  CUSHMAN. 

Placide,  Eichings,  Wheatley,  and  Mrs.  Kichardson 
had  parts  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  several  styles  in 
which  they  had  excelled,  while  Miss  Cushman's  talents 
raised  an  insignificent  character  to  an  interesting 
and  prominent  position.  We  have  witnessed  the  rep 
resentation  of  this  play  in  almost  every  city  in  the 
Union,  in  many  of  them  with  most  excellent  casts,  but 
never  saw  any  one  to  approach  the  Claude  of  Mr.  For 
rest,  or  a  lady  to  equal  Miss  Cushman,  as  the  Widow. 
Mr.  Francis  Courtly  Wemyss,  in  his  "  Twenty-Six 
Years  of  the  Life  of  an  Actor  and  Manager,"  says : 
"  On  the  18th  of  May,  1838,  Bulwer's  play  of  <  The 
Lady  of  Lyons/  was  acted  for  the  first  in  the  United 
States ,  at  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  for  my  benefit.  Mrs.  Shaw, 
as  Pauline.  Then  it  was  a  failure,  for  on  a  subsequent 
representation,  the  proceeds  of  the  house  were  only 
$126." 

In  the  year  1855,  Mr.  Forrest  purchased  the  hand- 


380  LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

some  brown  stone  mansion,  at  the  south-west  corner  of 
Broad  and  Master  Streets,  Philadelphia,  which  has 
since  been  his  home,  and  for  a  while  he  retired  from  the 
stage.  This  property  originally  belonged  to  Frederick 
Gaul,  Esq.,  the  eminent  brewer,  and  was  not  quite 
finished  when  Mr.  Forrest  purchased  it.  It  has  an 
extensive  garden,  in  which  tall,  stately  trees  and  weep 
ing  willows  vied  with  the  flower  beds  for  supremacy. 
Mr.  Forrest  paid  more  attention  to  the  trees  than  he 
did  to  the  flowers.  He  cultivated  the  grape,  and 
erected  a  hot  house  for  their  especial  growth.  Speak 
ing  to  him  one  day  about  the  garden,  we  asked  why 
he  did  not  pay  more  attention  to  the  beautifying  of  it 
by  arranging  the  flower-beds  in  accordance  to  the 
modern  poetical  arrangements,  for  there  is  poetry  in 
them ;  why  not  illustrate  it  ? 

"Because,"  he  replied,  "I  prefer  the  trees  ;  I  love 
to  hear  the  wind  whistling  through  their  branches,  and 
when  alone  in  my  library,  it  sounds  like  a  voice  from 
another  world." 

Subsequently  Mr.  Forrest  purchased  two  adjoining 
lots,  which  he  used  as  a  vegetable  garden.  After  the 
war,  he  gave  a  one-armed  soldier  the  sole  use  of  this 
lot.  We  have  seen  him  working  in  it,  planting  and 
cultivating  the  growth  of  cabbages,  potatoes,  tomatoes, 
beans,  peas ;  in  fact  everything  that  is  required  for  the 
table  for  either  rich  or  poor.  All  the  profit  arising 
from  the  production  of  this  lot  went  to  the  sole  use  of 
the  maimed  soldier  and  his  family.  We  said  to  him 
one  day : 

"  What  is  the  value  of  this  lot — the  one  used  by 
the  old  soldier  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  don't  exactly  know." 


LIFE    OP    EDWIN    FOKREST.  381 

"  Suppose/'  we  observed,  "  we  say  $25,000." 

"Well,  what  then?" 

"Simply  this;  the  man  is  occupying  a  piece  of 
ground  for  a  vegetable  garden,  the  interest  of  which,  if 
sold,  would  bring  you  in  fifteen  hundred  dollars  per 
annum." 

"  True,  but  as  I  never  intend  to  sell  it  while  living, 
what  matters  it ;  he  may  as  well  have  the  use  of  it,  as 
the  other  portion  of  my  ground  is  sufficiently  large  for 
my  purpose." 

Few  rich  men  ever  did  as  much  for  an  old  soldier 
as  Mr.  Forrest  did  for  this  one. 

His  front  on  Broad  Street  was  one  hundred  and 
ninety-eight  feet,  depth  two  hundred  feet,  the  house 
and  picture  gallery  occupying  one  hundred  feet  of  the 
front,  and  there  was  an  iron  railing  extending  the 
length  of  the  balance,  in  front  of  the  garden,  thus  giv 
ing  to  passers-by  a  full  view  of  the  interior.  We  one 
day  asked  him  why  he  put  up  the  stone  wall  inside  of 
the  railing,  thus  giving  to  the  exterior  a  prison-like  ap 
pearance.  His  answer  was — but  not  until  he  laughed 
heartily  as  a  sort  of  prelude — "  One  day,"  said  he,  "I 
was  in  the  garden,  having  on  an  old  hat  and  light  linen 
coat,  which  extended  almost  down  to  my  feet,  work 
ing  away,  with  my  back  toward  the  street :  I  heard  a 
sound,  a  sort  of  murmur ;  I  paid  no  attention  to  it, 
however,  when  suddenly  a  shrill,  boyish  voice  shouted 
out,  '  There  he  is  ;'  and  then  another,  more  manly,  ex 
claimed,  i  It  is  Kichelieu.'  I  turned  suddenly  round, 
and  to  my  utter  astonishment  saw  the  whole  length  of 
the  iron  railing  lined  with  a  gaping  crowd,  some 
shouting  Macbeth,  Holla,  Kichard,  and  the  devil  knows 
what ;  and  as  I  rushed  into  the  house  the  sounds  fol- 


382  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FO^KEST. 

lowed  me.     That,  sir,  is  the  reason  why  I  put  up  that 
wall." 

During  Mr.  Forrest's  retirement,  numerous  inquiries 
were  made  when  it  was  likely  he  would  again  appear. 
In  answer  to  them,  we  published  the  following : 


TO   CORRESPONDENTS.      EDWIN   FORREST. 


"  The  question  is  so  frequently  asked  in  relation  to  the 
probability  of  this  gentleman's  appearing  again  on  the 
stage,  that  we  feel  it  a  duty  to  answer  such  questions  to 
the  best  of  our  knowledge,  as  we  know  it  is  not  an  idle 
curiosity  which  prompts  them. 

"  These  inquiries,  written  in  many  instances  by  persons 
evidently  anxious  to  witness  his  powerful  impersonation  of 
character,  are  highly  flattering  to  this  inimitable  artist. 
They  also  develop  to  us  the  fact  that  thousands  are  so 
sickened,  and,  in  some  instances,  disgusted  at  the  present 
state  of  the  drama,  and  the  paucity  of  genuine  talent  in 
our  midst,  that  a  change  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  body 
politic  is  most  anxiously  desired. 

"  To  end  the  anxiety  manifested,  we  can  state,  with 
confidence,  that  Mr.  Forrest  will  appear  on  the  stage 
again,  and  this  event,  so  long  looked  for  will  most  pro 
bably  take  place  in  the  fall  or  winter  season  of  the  present 
year,  June,  1860." 

In  the  year  1860,  he  accepted  a  very  tempting 
offer  made  by  James  M.  Nixon,  to  perform  one  hundred 
nights  (three  nights  each  week)  in  the  principal  cities 
of  the  Union,  Mr.  Forrest  receiving  a  clear-half  of  the 
nightly  receipts.  He  opened  on  the  17th  of  September, 
1860,  at  Niblo's  Garden,  as  Hamlet.  In  1861,  Mr. 
Nixon  engaged  the  Academy  of  Music,  in  Philadelphia, 
with  Mr.  Forrest  as  the  star,  and,  as  on  the  occasion  of 
his  New  York  engagement,  seats  were  sold  at  auction. 
This  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  engagements  ever 
performed  by  Mr.  Forrest  in  his  native  city,  during 
which  he  won  golden  opinions  from  all  sorts  of  people, 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST.  383 

and,  with  but  two  exceptions,  elicited  the  warmest  en 
comiums  from  the  press.  This  engagement  closed 
on  Monday,  January  13th,  1862,  with  Othello.  In 
consequence  of  the  great  success  attending  Mr.  For 
rest's  impersonation  of  Shakesperian  characters,  the 
manager  a  few  nights  before  the  close,  issued  the  fol 
lowing  card: 

"  From  the  decided  preference  given  by  the  public  to 
Mr.  Forrest's  Shakesperian  impersonations,  the  manager 
has  determined,  for  the  few  remaining  nights,  that  none  but 
Shakespeare's  plays  will  be  produced." 

This  was  a  compliment  paid  alike  to  the  author 
and  the  actor.  The  success  attending  this  engagement 
with  Mr.  Nixon,  was  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  the 
American  stage. 

Having  concluded  his  engagement  with  Mr.  Nixon, 
Mr.  Forrest  commenced  a  short  one  with  Mr.  William 
Wheatley,  at  the  Chestnut  Street  Theatre,  commenc 
ing  January  26th,  1863,  with  Virginius,  on  which 
occasion  Mr.  Wheatley  being  called  out,  made  the  fol 
lowing  speech: — 

"If  fortune  does  help  the  bold  as  the  Roman  proverb 
says,  and  the  old  English  one,  '  Resolution  and  success  are 
cater  cousins,'  has  any  thing  in  it,  then  indeed  do  I  feel 
certain  that  my  honest  ambition  cannot  and  shall  not  be 
belied  by  my  failure.  Indeed,  it  seems  to  me  that  the  blind 
goddess  of  the  wheel  and  money  bags,  was  in  one  of  her 
most  loving  moods,  since  she  enables  me  to  commence  my 
season  in  conjunction  with  the  most  powerful  attraction 
as  an  artist,  that  could  be  found  in  this  country — nay !  by 
the  world.  You  are  of  course  aware  that  I  am  now  al 
luding  to  Mr.  Edwin  Forrest!" 

In  consequence   of  the   universal  desire  to  obtain 


384  LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORREST. 

seats  on  the  occasion,  tickets  were  sold  by  auction  at 
high  premiums  from  the  auctioneer's  rostrum. 

During  this  engagement,  Mr.  Forrest  produced  Dr. 
Bird's  celebrated  play  of  The  Broker  of  Bogota ; 
speaking  of  which,  he  said — "  Mr.  William  Wheatley's 
impersonation  of  Antonio  de  Cabero  was  one  of  the 
most  finished  pieces  of  acting  I  ever  witnessed.  The 
applause  of  the  audience  was  equally  divided ;  he  re 
ceiving,  I  really  believe,  the  greater  share/' 

After  fulfilling  this  engagement,  Mr.  Forrest  again 
appeared  at  the  Academy  of  Music,  Mr.  J.  T.  Ford, 
manager.  The  success  attending  this  engagement  was 
not  so  good,  owing  to  the  paucity  of  talent  in  the 
company. 

Mr.  Forrest  continued  playing  throughout  the  coun 
try  from  this  period,  up  to  1866,  when  he  made  his 
great  tour  to  California,  opening  at  San  Francisco, 
at  the  Opera  House,  as  Richelieu.  Prior  to  his  de 
parture  to  the  Pacific  coast,  he  played  an  engagement 
at  Chicago,  Illinois,  for  five  nights,  to  immense  houses ; 
the  whole  proceeds  yielding  $11,600 — one  night's  per 
formance  alone  being  over  $2,800 ! 

Passing  over  the  intervening  years,  we  come  to  his 
last  great  engagement,  commencing  in  Philadelphia,  at 
the  Walnut  Street  Theatre,  October  2nd,  1871. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 


MENTAL  AND  PHYSICAL  LABOR.  —  FORREST'S  ENERGY. 
-  GREAT  WESTERN  AND  SOUTHERN  TOUR  CONTEM 
PLATED.  —  PREPARES  HIMSELF  FOR  THE  TASK.  — 
STARTS  FROM  PHILADELPHIA.  —  COLUMBUS.  -  CIN 
CINNATI.  —  OHIO. 


who  have  been  used  to  a  career  of  compar- 
-•-  ative  idleness,  can  never  know  how  men  of  busy 
lives  seek  for  employment  ;  and  those  whose  days  have 
been  spent  in  constant  labor  from  their  youth  up,  can 
not  bear  sudden  and  entire  cessation  without  great 
suffering.  Time  is  a  dismal  void  to  them.  Young 
says,  "Time  destroyed,  is  suicide,  where  more  than 
blood  is  spilt."  The  muscles  and  brain  crack  with 
rust,  and  man  falls  into  the  "sere  and  yellow  leaf" 
before  his  time.  How  thoroughly  Mr.  Forrest  appre 
ciated  this,  can  be  seen  by  a  glance  at  his  professional 
career.  From  October  2nd,  1871  —  being  then  in  the 
sixty-fifth  year  of  his  age  —  up  to  the  18th  of  March, 
1872,  he  acted  in  fifty-one  different  towns  and  cities, 
playing  five  nights  a  week,  performing  one  hundred 
and  twenty-one  nights  ;  and  in  that  time  travelled  not 
far  from  seven  thousand  miles  ;  and  in  this  campaign, 
accompanied  by  his  able  and  efficient  agent,  Joseph 
McArdle,  Esq.,  they  suffered  all  the  fearful  calamities 
of  railroad  and  steamboat  disasters,  putting  up  most 
of  the  time  in  hotels  barren  of  ordinary  comforts  and 
24  (385) 


386  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

convenience.  The  amount  of  vitality  demanded  in  the 
representation  of  the  characters  acted  by  Mr.  Forrest 
during  the  last  campaign  of  his  professional  life  was 
enormous. 

Now  let  us  contrast  the  present  custom  with  an 
earlier  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  drama.  Formerly, 
the  theatres  were  opened  but  three  nights  a  week ;  then 
the  actors  had  time  for  study  and  duly  to  rehearse 
their  parts.  Now  they  are  called  upon  for  eight  per 
formances  a  week,  including  matinees;  and,  in  some 
instances  in  the  South,  they  are  asked  to  perform  on 
Sunday  evenings.  When  John  P.  Kemble  took  his  fare 
well  of  the  stage,  he  acted  but  fifty-four  nights  during 
the  whole  season,  which  lasted  from  October  25th, 
1816,  to  June  23rd,  1817,  during  which  time  he  was 
living  quietly  in  his  comfortable  home  in  London. 
Mr.  Kemble  was  then  in  his  sixtieth  year. 

David  Grarrick  never  at  any  time  played  more  than 
one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  nights,  during  any  theat 
rical  season ;  and  for  the  last  five  years  of  his  profes 
sional  life,  he  acted  but  fifty-four  nights  in  all,  and  was 
the  manager  of  the  theatre.  He,  like  Kemble,  left  the 
stage  in  his  sixtieth  year.  Compare  with  this,  the 
mental  and  physical  labor  done  by  Mr.  Forrest,  who 
had  just  passed  his  sixty-sixth  birth-day,  and  no  one 
can  dispute  his  intellectual  or  physical  superiority.  He 
one  day  remarked  to  an  intimate  friend,  while  speaking 
of  the  demands  made  upon  him  in  the  performance  of 
some  of  Shakespeare's  plays : — 

"  Why,  I  part  with  more  vitality  in  one  perform 
ance  of  Lear,  than  would  keep  an  Alderman  alive  for 
a  lustrum  ! "  Upon  another  occasion  he  said  :  "I  have 
wept  more  over  the  wrongs  of  Lear  and  Othello,  within 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  387 

the  last  ten  years,  than  I  have  ever  wept  before  in  my 
life."  His  friend  remarked — "  There  was  a  sadness 
and  a  pathos  in  the  tones  of  Forrest's  voice  as  he  gave 
utterance  to  these  words,  more  touching  and  of  deeper 
import  than  any  of  his  acting  I  had  ever  seen."  There 
certainly  is  a  charm  and  music  in  the  low  marvellously 
sympathetic  tones  of  Forrest's  voice,  that  bring  to  our 
mind  the  criticisms  of  Hazlitt  on  Edmund  Kean's  fare 
well  in  Othello — (which  by  the  way,  was  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  things  we  ever  heard  or  witnessed  on 
the  stage) — when  he  compared  the  voice  of  that  peer 
less  actor  to  the  "  Sighing  of  the  South  wind  through 
a  Cypress  Grove ! " 

It  was  stated  of  Thomas  A.  Cooper,  that  he  visited 
every  State  in  the  Union,  played  in  sixty  theatres, 
acting  four  thousand  five  hundred  nights,  and  travelled 
twenty  thousand  miles.  James  H.  Caldwell,  the  great 
Southern  manager,  unfurled  the  banner  of  Thespis  in 
thirteen  States  as  proprietor,  built  four  theatres,  and 
travelled  sixty  thousand  miles,  as  actor  and  manager, 
in  thirteen  years.  From  the  15th  of  May,  1820,  to 
the  14th  of  July,  1821,  he  performed  in  the  following 
route,  travelling  with  a  dramatic  corps  every  mile — 
"Washington  City,  Alexandria,  D.  C. ;  Fredericksburg, 
Richmond,  Petersburg,  and  Norfolk,  Virginia ;  Charles 
ton,  S.  C. ;  New  Orleans,  La. ;  Natchez,  Miss. ;  Nash 
ville,  Tenn.  His  annual  journey,  as  given  above,  when 
completed,  amounted  to  six  thousand  miles. 

Mr.  Forrest,  anticipating  this  great  undertaking, 
had,  in  a  measure,  prepared  himself.  He  visited  the 
most  celebrated  springs,  rested  on  mountain  tops, 
passed  over  lakes  and  valleys,  sought  places  having 
legendary  and  historic  interest — thus  strengthening  the 


388  LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FORREST. 

body  as  well  as  the  mind.  The  pure  fresh  air  from 
the  mountains,  the  salubrious  gale  that  swept  across 
the  lake,  a  plunge  into  the  vapor  baths  of  Virginia,  all 
contributed  to  aid  and  sustain  him  for  the  task. 

The  love  of  the  profession,  the  desire  to  extend  the 
legitimate  drama,  and  to  gratify  the  wishes  of  thou 
sands  living  in  the  distant  cities  South  and  West,  was 
the  object  of  this  great  dramatic  tour.  His  name,  so 
closely  identified  with  our  drama,  and  written  in  golden 
letters  on  the  histrionic  page  made  it  familiar  to  all, 
New  stars  had  appeared  in  the  "  mimic  world ;"  new 
names  been  added  to  the  list  of  great  actors,  which,  for 
a  while,  elicited  criticism,  but,  lacking  the  mental  glow, 
the  mind's  light,  they  have  long  since  passed  away  in 
meteoric  flashes.  Forrest's  star  was  in  the  ascendant, 
and  the  drama  wore  it  like  a  jewel  on  'her  brow. 
Travelling  through  sections  of  our  country,  where  the 
drama,  some  years  ago,  had  scarcely  a  local  habitation 
and  a  name,  suifering  the  many  privations  incident  to 
such  a  journey,  Mr.  Forrest  gave  another  portion  of  a 
long  and  useful  life  to  the  cause  of  the  legitimate 
drama,  and  to  the  interest  of  the  American  stage,  fur 
nishing  to  the  many  who  had  read  only  about  plays  and 
actors,  the  evidence  of  what  true  art  can  do  in  the  nine 
teenth  century  ;  made  stage  illusions  a  seeming  reality 
— showed  them  Lear  panoplied  in  all  his  majestic 
grandeur — a  living  portrait  of  Shakespeare's  creation  ; 
presented  to  their  astonished  view  the  wily  Cardinal, 
who  ruled  France,  in  the  place  of  a  weak  king ;  drew 
with  the  power  of  his  genius,  Virginius,  Damon,  Co- 
riolanus,  and  also  the  Jealous  Moor,  and  other  of 
Shakespeare's  great  characters,  making  them  startling 
pictures  for  admiring  thousands. 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  389 

We  will  glance  slightly  over  this  tour,  from  its  start 
until  its  close.  Alas  !  how  nearly  did  that  word  connect 
itself  with  that  of  his  own  life  ?  No  coming  events 
cast  their  shadows  before  him  in  that  bright  hour  of  his 
dramatic  triumph  ;  no  dark  pall  resting  on  some  sculp 
tured  marble  was  conjured  up  to  his  mental  vision; 
and  yet  these  shadows  were  before  him — moving  on, 
darkening,  and  closing  gradually  into  eternal  night ! 

Mr.  Forrest  commenced  this  mapped  out  engage 
ment  at  the  Walnut  Street  Theatre,  on  the  second  of 
October,  1871.  To  say  it  was  a  success,  would  be 
simply  to  repeat  what  we  have  already  said  of  his 
other  engagements.  This  engagement  closed  on  the 
16th  of  October.  He  then  proceeded  to  Columbus, 
Ohio ;  opened  there  on  the  23rd  of  the  same  month,  and 
thence  to  Cincinnati,  the  Athens  of  the  West.  When 
Mr.  Forrest  first  appeared  in  Cincinnati,  nearly  fifty 
years  before,  the  city,  as  well  as  the  drama,  were  in 
their  infancy.  To  him  these  remembrances  must  have 
been  pleasing.  He  could  look  back  to  the  time  when 
the  boatman's  song  was  heard  on  the  waters  of  the 
Ohio,  and  these  notes  were  re-echoed  from  the  forests 
lining  its  shore : 

"  Hard  upon  the  beach  oar, 

She  moves  too  slow, 
All  the  way  to  Shawneetown, 
Long  while  ago." 

These  scenes  and  these  notes  echoing  from  the 
bluffs  of  the  beautiful  Ohio,  had  a  charm  for  his 
youthful  mind  which  time  on  its  onward  course  could 
not  dispel.  Indeed,  he  often  spoke  of  them  as  among 
the  most  pleasing  reminiscences  of  his  past  life.  It  is 
not,  perhaps,  generally  known,  that  Mr.  Forrest  in- 


390  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

dulged,  when  alone  in  his  library,  writing,  or  as  he  said 
"  attempting  to  write  poetry,"  and  almost  as  soon  as 
finished,  found  its  way  into  the  waste  basket.  One 
poem,  however,  may  be  found  among  his  papers,  de 
scriptive  of  the  scenes  alluded  to  above,  which  we  are 
satisfied  never  met  the  fate  of  the  others.  It  com 
mences  with  an  invocation  to  nature ;  and  we  could 
almost  venture  to  give  the  opening  lines,  but  fearful 
of  trusting  too  much  to  memory,  we  refrain,  lest  the 
loss  of  a  word  might  mar  the  harmony  and  rhythm 
of  the  lines,  and  thus  lessen  the  claims  the  great  actor 
had  to  be  ranked  among  our  poets. 

Mr.  Forrest  commenced  his  engagement  in  Cin 
cinnati,  at  Wood's  Theatre,  October  30th,  1871,  as  King 
Lear.  The  editor  of  the  Commercial,  speaking  of  his 
Lear,  says : 

"  And  yet  we  think  the  glorious  quality  of  his  acting 
has  never  been  surpassed  in  this  city.  Forrest  still  has  his 
magnificent  voice  with  its  stirring  compass ;  he  has  health 
and  gnarly  strength ;  he  has  his  old  faculty  of  intense  and 
unflagging  concentration ;  he  has  all  his  wonted  power  to 
thrill  an  audience  and  sway  its  sympathy;  and  speaking 
for  the  enchained  spectators  of  last  evening,  we  can  say 
that  his  delineation  of  King  Lear  is  a  creation  to  remember 
and  to  venerate.  The  picture  once  seen  must  hang  forever 
among  the  old  masters.  A  man  will  sooner  rust  out  than 
wear  out,  runs  the  old  proverb  ;  and  to  a  man  of  Mr.  For 
rest's  massive  mould  inaction  is  hateful.  Avarice,  '  the  last 
vice  of  a  noble  mind,'  has  no  place  in  his  motives.  He  is 
blessed  with  large  wealth,  spends  it  freely  for  life's  com 
forts  and  refinement,  and  gives  nobly.  Ambition  cannot 
bestow  further  rewards;  he  has  long  ago  secured  the 
highest.  He  stands  in  the  front  rank  of  tragedians.  It 
was  but  a  few  days  ago  that  he  concluded  a  flattering 
season  in  Philadelphia,  the  city  of  his  residence,  and  he 
has  busy  engagements  extending  henceforward  until  sum 
mer  again  brings  a  vacation  to  all  his  brother  professionals, 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  391 

old  and  young.  He  continues  to  act,  not  for  the  incitement 
of  money,  nor  the  incense  for  applause,  but  because  he  was 
born  an  actor,  and  loves  art  for  its  inner  and  loftier  re 
wards.  Perhaps  he  thinks  it  is  time  enough  to  retire  when 
audiences  slip  away  from  his  controlling  authority.  That 
moment  has  not  arrived,  and  we  cannot  detect  its  near 
approach.  The  career  of  Edwin  Forrest  on  the  stage  has 
hardly  a  parallel  for  tension  of  effort  and  prolonged  vitali 
ty,  and  still  it  marches  on  triumphant.  The  Lear  of  his 
mellow  age  is  grander  than  the  Gladiator  of  his  early 
prime." 

From  Cincinnati  he  proceeded  -to  New  Orleans, 
and  opened  there  on  the  13th  of  November,  1871. 
From  New  Orleans,  Mr.  Forrest  proceeded  to  Galveston, 
Texas,  commencing  there  on  December  4th,  1871 ;  from 
thence  to  Houston,  opening  on  the  llth ;  and  from 
thence  he  started  for  Nashville,  Tennessee,  where  he 
commenced  a  splendid  engagement  on  the  18th  of  De 
cember,  1871.  The  Union  and  American,  speaking  of 
the  last  night  of  his  engagement,  December  23rd,  said : 


"  Last  night  closed  the  engagement  of  the  justly  re 
nowned  Edwin  Forrest,  one  of  America's  famous  actors, 
and,  in  many  respects,  one  of  the  greatest  men  known  in 
his  profession  throughout  the  world.  It  is  more  than  prob 
able  that  he  will  never  appear  again  before  a  Nashville 
audience ;  but  he  has  left  an  impression  upon  our  theatre- 
going  public  that  will  be  remembered  for  time  to  come. 
In  years  past,  Nashville  audiences  have  been  favored  with 
visits  from  numerous  brilliant  lights  in  the  dramatic  firma 
ment  some  of  whom  might  be  compared  to  the  momentary 
blaze  of  a  rocket ;  or,  rather,  the  flash  of  a  meteor,  which  is 
only  seen  when  falling,  or  the  Northern  lights,  which  appear 
to  flash  and  flicker  in  ragged  confusion.  Not  so  with 
Forrest.  His  brilliancy  resembles  the  diamond  of  genius ; 
and  like  the  constant  flood  of  light  which  emanates  from 
some  wildly  waving  torch,  casts  broad  illumination  into 
the  dark  places  of  nature.  As  in  the  sea  shell,  long  separa- 


392  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEREST. 

ted  from  its  native  sea,  there  yet  lingers,  or  seems  to  linger, 
when  you  apply  it  to  the  ear,  the  "distant  and  far-off  mur 
mur  of  the  main,  so,  in  the  recollection  of  a  man  of  genius, 
like  Mr.  Forrest,  there  lingers  an  echo  of  that  which  is 
vast  and  infinite.  There  is  a  language  in  his  face,  a  mean 
ing  in  every  gesture,  and  new  and  striking  conceptions 
in  every  sentence  that  he  utters. 

"  In  the  different  characters  represented  by  Mr.  Forrest 
during  the  week,  he  has  made  himself  simply  a  looking- 
glass  to  nature,  and  has  earned  a  title  to  the  applause  of 
all  who  appreciate  true  greatness.  In  his  personation  of 
Lear,  last  evening,  there  was  observable  the  same  mellow 
ness 'that  characterized  other  parts  in  his  role;  and  it  was, 
if  anything,  more  effective,  producing  the  same  wrapt 
attention  on  the  part  of  the  audience,  who  seemed  to  re 
alize  the  fact  that  the  voice  of  genius,  though  often  rugged, 
sometimes  wrathful,  despairing,  is  always  a  cry  from  its 
own  heart.  Low,  sometimes  as  the  sob  of  the  dying  deer, 
and  again  as  loud  as  the  crash  and  darkness  of  a  thousand 
storms,  bursting  their  inaccessible  abodes  of  crags  and 
thunder-clouds.  In  that  vast  audience  at  Masonic  Hall 
last  night  could  scarcely  be  found  a  single  individual  who 
was  not  willing  to  accord  to  the  distinguished  actor  the 
highest  meed  of  praise  for  the  truthful  and  faithful  rendi 
tion  of  Shakespeare's  sublime  conception,  and  there  were 
many,  no  doubt,  who  regretted  the  close  of  this  season  of 
dramatic  grandeur." 


CHAPTEK    XXXVII. 

KANSAS    CITY. — FORRESTANIA. — ST.   LOUIS. — HIS   GREAT 

SUCCESS. CRITICISMS. A      MINISTER      CONVERTED 

BY   HIS    ELOQUENCE.  —  ACCEPTS   AN    INVITATION    TO 
BOSTON. — SICKNESS. — JAMES    OAKES'     LETTER. — RE 


TURN    HOME. 


M 


R.    FORREST'S    next    engagements    were    at 
Omaha,  Kansas  City,  St.  Joseph's,  etc. ;   com- 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  393 

mencing  at  the  former  place,  December  25th,  1871. 
The  excitement  at  Omaha,  to  witness  his  acting, 
brought  people  from  distant  parts  of  the  country,  and 
the  theatre  was  crowded.  But  a  few  years  ago,  this 
whole  section  of  country  was  a  wilderness.  What 
is  it  now  ?  Not  only  a  growing  country  as  regards 
agriculture  and  commerce,  but  in  the  mind's  culture. 
In  every  place  his  King  Lear  was  received  with  the 
greatest  enthusiasm ;  not  so  much  from  its  being  the 
production  of  Shakespeare,  but  from  the  powerful 
acting  of  Mr.  Forrest.  He  gave  a  truthful,  lifelike 
picture  of  the  old  King,  which  flashed  before  the 
eyes  of  his  audience  as  a  meteor  from  the  skies, 
and  presented  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  efforts 
of  genius  and  dramatic  talent  that  was  ever  made 
by  any  actor  since  the  days  of  Betterton;  and  we 
have  tradition  only  as  an  evidence  of  his  superiority 
over  all  others  in  this  character.  During  Mr.  Forrest's 
engagement  at  Kansas  City,  excursions  were  ran  into 
the  city  upon  all  the  railroads  centreing  at  that 
place,  at  greatly  reduced  prices.  The  New  Kiver, 
Fort  Scott  and  Gulf  Railroad,  brought  excursionists 
from  Baxter's  Springs,  a  distance  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles,  for  three  dollars  each,  the  round  trip, 
including  omnibus  fare  to  and  from  the  depot — a 
supper,  a  hotel,  and  admission  to  the  Opera  House. 
Does  history  furnish  a  parallel  to  this  ? 

The  following  anecdotes  were  related  of  Mr.  For 
rest  during  his  western  tour.  We  will  head  the 
article. 

"FORRESTANIA." 

Without  doubt,  it  is  a  very  pleasant  thing  to 
be  famous ;  but  to  have  your  acquaintance  sought 


394          LIFE     OF     EDWIN     FORREST. 

by  everybody  becomes  tiresome  after  a  while,  and 
the  "known  to  fame"  sighs  in  vain  for  quietude 
and  freedom  from  the  persecution.  Probably  Edwin 
Forrest  never  visited  a  town  or  city  where  he  was  not 
assailed  by  bores,  and  because  he  refused  the  intru 
sion,  was  declared  discourteous.  Some  of  the  more 
persistent  had  a  faculty  of  presenting  themselves, 
upon  the  first  occasion,  of  catching  a  glimpse  of  the 
tragedian. 

"  Mr.  Forrest,  I  believe." 

"  No,  sir  !  "  invariably  interrupted  Forrest.  "  That 
is  Mr.  Forrest,"  indicating  Mr.  McArdle,  his  business 
manager. 

When  Mr.  Forrest  visited  Bloomington,  Illinois, 
Dr.  Shroeder,  the  eccentric  Teutonic  proprietor  of 
the  opera  house,  ventilated  his  opinions  in  regard  to 
the  relative  merits  of  Mr.  Forrest  and  McKean  Bu 
chanan. 

"McKean  Booohanan,"  said  the  doctor,  "is  the 
greatest  actor  that  ever  came  to  Bloomington,  and  I 
always  says  to  him,  'Mr.  Boochanan,  whenever  you 
want  to  come  to  my  opera  house,  you  can  have  it 
without  costing  you  a  cent/ '' 

"Don't  you  think,"  asked  Mr.  Holland,  "that 
Mr.  Forrest's  Lear  is  a  most  wonderful  effort  ?  " 

"  Yaw,  yaw,"  answered  Shroeder,  "  Mr.  Forrest  is 
a  pooty  good  actor,  and  I  liked  him  foost  rate ;  but 
when  you  come  right  down  to  hollerin',  Forrest 
ain't  nowhere." 

The  following  was  spoken  of  in  connection  with 
the  above : 

"  If  there  is  one  thing  above  all  others  for  which 
Mr.  Forrest  had  a  great  distaste,  it  was  a  sea  voyage. 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FORREST.  395 

While  making  the  passage  to  California,  a  fearful 
storm  arose,  and  among  the  few  who  braved  its  fury 
on  deck,  were  the  tragedian  and  a  clergyman.  The 
winds  shrieked,  the  waves  lashed  furiously,  and  the 
vessel  tossed  and  trembled,  while  Mr.  Forrest  vented 
an  occasional  oath.  This  greatly  shocked  the  pastor, ' 
who,  clinging  to  a  rope's  end  to  maintain  his  posi 
tion,  turned  with  the  solemn  rebuke : 

"  Don't  you  know,  sir,  our  Saviour  went  to  sea 
in  a  vessel,  and  a  great  storm  arose  ?  " 

The  vessel  gave  a  great  lurch,  and  the  sea  thun 
dered  over  the  deck.  When  the  vessel  righted  and 
regained  her  course,  the  great  actor  turned  with 
the  response : 

"  Yes,  so  he  did ;  but  when  he  got  tired  of  it  he 
got  out  and  went  a-foot.  We  can't." 

Mr.  Forrest's  next  engagement  was  at  St.  Louis, 
where  he  opened  on  the  8th  of  January,  1872,  at 

DE    BAB'S    OPERA    HOUSE. 

Mr.  Forrest's  reception  in  St.  Louis  was  most  flat 
tering.  His  engagement  closed  on  Friday  evening, 
January  12th.  The  editor  of  the  Republican,  speak 
ing  of  it,  said: 

"  Long  before  the  curtain  rose  last  evening,  there  was 
not  a  single  vacant  seat  in  the  theatre  above  or  below,  and 
every  inch  of  available  standing  room  in  the  aisles  and  lob 
bies  was  occupied.  We  have  rarely  seen  a  more  splendid 
audience  on  any  occasion  than  gathered  to  honor  Mr.  For 
rest's  farewell  appearance,  and  see  him  in  what  is,  in  many 
respects,  his  noblest  character.  The  public  seemed  to  un 
derstand  that  this  might  be  the  last  time  they  would  have 
an  opportunity  of  saluting  a  famous  actor,  and  that,  live  as 
long  as  they  might,  there  was  small  chance  of  ever  wit 
nessing  a  greater  Lear. 


396  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

"  And,  taking  all  in  all,  it  was  a  grand  performance — 
worthy  alike  of  the  subject,  and  of  the  reputation  of  him 
who  delivered  it.  The  man  who  can  play  Lear  as  it  de 
serves  to  be  played,  must  not  only  possess  high  genius, 
fine  taste,  and  uncommon  physical  energy,  but  he  must 
have  passed  into  the  shadow  of  age,  and  endured  sharp 
trial  and  bitter  sorrow.  Mr.  Forrest  has  all  these  requi 
sites,  and  they  blend  together  in  an  impressive  picture 
whose  sombre  yet  powerful  colors  are  stamped  upon  the 
soul  of  him  who  looks  thereon.  The  tremendous  grief  of 
the  crownless  king,  his  awful  wrath,  his  madness,  his  tears, 
his  death — all  these  are  drawn  with  a  wonderful  vividness 
and  reality,  which  go  straight  to  the  heart.  We  remem 
ber  nothing  more  touching  on  the  stage  than  the  strug 
gles  of  the  poor  old  man  when  he  feels  reason  tottering 
npon  her  throne,  and  then  yielding  to  the  irresistible 
pressure  of  a  mighty  woe,  sinks  into  the  semi-oblivion  of 
harmless  lunacy.  And  in  the  climax  of  the  closing  scene, 
where  he  bends  over  the  corpse  of  his  daughter,  looks  into 
her  still  eyes,  presses  her  pulseless  heart,  watches  for  the 
dumb  lips  to  open  once  more,  and  then  whispers  in  broken, 
tremulous  voice  :  '  Cordelia  !  Cordelia  !  stay  a  little  !  ' — 
what  an  infinite  depth  of  pathos  is  there  in  it  all !  It  is 
the  sublimity  of  sorrow,  the  acme  of  an  anguish  whose 
appropriate  consummation  is  death." 

On  the  15th  of  January,  1872,  Mr.  Forrest  opened 
at  Quincy,  and  on  the  22nd,  at  Pittsburg.  It  is  almost 
needless  for  us  to  say  that  his  advent  at  any  town  and 
city  was  the  assurance  of  crowded  houses.  The  press 
was  equally  warm  in  his  praise.  The  editor  of  the 
Post,  at  the  close  of  an  article  on  his  Lear,  said : 

"  Does  the  ordinary  man  of  business  keep  his  highest 
place  for  fifty  years  ?  Does  the  author  do  this  ?  or  the 
clergyman  ?  or  the  doctor  ?  And  yet  the  merchant,  or 
the  author,  the  clergyman,  or  the  lawyer,  do  they,  or  either 
of  them,  perform  their  heaviest  labor  each  day  from  8  till 
12  P.  M.  ?  Do  they  travel  on  off  days  and  nights,  to  meet 
new  engagements  ?  Yet  all  this  the  actor  has  to  do,  and 
the  more  eminent  is  his  ability  the  more  exacting  and  un 
ceasing  are  his  labors.  And  such  has  been  Mr.  Forrest's 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORKEST.  397 

life  of  labor,  through  which  he  still  retains  his  mental  and 
physical  vigor." 

On  the  5th  of  February,  1872,  he  opened  at  Cleve 
land,  Ohio,  in  the  character  of  Richelieu,  to  one  of  the 
most  fashionable  houses  of  the  season.  The  Daily  Her 
ald  spoke  in  the  highest  terms  of  his  impersonation  of 
the  Wily  Cardinal  On  the  12th  of  February,  1872, 
he  opened  at  Detroit,  and  from  thence  he  proceeded  to 
Buffalo,  where  he  played  one  of  the  most  successful 
engagements  made  during  his  tour.  The  criticisms  on 
Mr.  Forrest's  acting,  which  appeared  in  the  several 
papers  of  the  city,  bear  evidence  of  superior  minds 
and  intellectual  culture  on  the  part  of  the  writers — far 
superior  to  those  of  many  other  cities.  This  is  readily 
accounted  for,  from  the  fact  that  Buffalo  has  always 
been  distinguished  for  her  public  schools,  and  has  the 
honor  of  being  among  the  first  cities  in  the  State  of 
New  York  in  introducing  and  perfecting  this  system  of 
popular  education.  Her  libraries,  her  educational  and 
benevolent  institutions,  her  university,  medical  colleges, 
the  Young  Men's  Association,  with  a  library  of  over 
7,000  volumes,  connected  with  a  lecture  room ;  with  a 
newspaper  press  unequalled  for  the  talent  displayed  in 
the  editorial  columns,  Buffalo  may  well  claim  the  title 
of  a  literary  city — a  modern  Athens  for  learning  and 
intelligence. 

On  the  26th  of  February,  1872,  he  opened  in 
Rochester ;  on  March  4th,  in  Syracuse,  closing  at 
Utica,  Troy  and  Albany,  where  he  commenced  on  the 
18th — thus  closing  one  of  the  most  extensive  and 
arduous  engagements  ever  attempted  by  any  actor. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Syracuse  Daily  Standard, 
speaking  of  Mr.  Forrest's  advent  in  that  city,  said : 


398  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

"  Those  who  have  heard  Mr.  Forrest,  need  no  sugges 
tion  to  hear  him  again.  A  gentleman  who  has  heard  him 
often  during  a  long  residence  in  New  York,  remarked  to 
me  recently  that  he  would  like  to  hear  him  every  evening 
the  year  round.  Those  who  have  not  heard  him,  and  have 
an  ear  for  the  music  of  speech,  should  not  neglect  the  op 
portunity.  His  elocution  is  a  master-piece  of  perfection. 
His  majestic  presence  and  wonderful  voice  are  unimpaired 
by  the  lapse  of  time.  His  style  combines  the  most  perfect 
finish  with  a  natural  simplicity  that  pleases  alike  the  rudest 
as  well  as  the  most  cultivated  taste.  It  is  nature  itself, 
speaking  to  nature,  and  carrying  away  the  soul  a  willing 
captive.  All  attempts  at  description  are  vain.  Words 
are  idle.  As  well  attempt  to  photograph  the  rainbow,  as 
to  describe  the  rich,  sweet,  and  every-varying  melody  of 
his  deep  and  powerful  voice,  expressing  every  shade  of 
emotion,  from  the  gentlest  sympathy  to  the  most  terrible 
storm  of  passion,  which  finds  in  his  earthquake  utterance 
ample  power  and  to  spare.  An  amusing  incident  illus 
trates  the  magic  effect  of  his  acting.  I  heard  him  about 
four  years  ago,  in  New  York,  in  the  character  of  Virginius. 
A  gentleman  from  New  Jersey  sitting  at  my  elbow  told 
me  that  he  was  a  clergyman,  and  that  he  had  never  been  in 
a  theatre  before  in  his  life,  but  he  could  not  resist  his  desire 
to  hear  Mr.  Forrest ;  and  added  that  he  hoped  that  none 
of  his  congregation  would  recognize  him.  Before  the 
close  of  the  play  he  said  '  he  did  not  care  who  recognized 
him.  He  wished  his  whole  congregation  was  present,  as 
he  thought  that  the  moral  lesson  taught  by  Mr.  Forrest 
was  far  superior  to  anything  he  could  do  in  the  pulpit.' " 

It  is  an  old  saying  that  "actors  represent  fiction 
as  truth ;  and  preachers  represent  truth  as  fiction ; " 
such  being  the  usual  careless  manner  in  which  they 
preach.  Fortunate,  indeed,  would  it  be  for  the  cause 
of  religion,  if  its  advocates  possessed  the  eloquence  of 
Mr.  Forrest ;  and  the  legal  profession  might  have  taken 
lessons  of  him  with  advantage. 

At  the  solicitation  of  numerous  friends  in  Boston, 
Mr.  Forrest  was  induced  to  forego  his  intention  of 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  399 

returning  home,  and  play  an  engagement  in  that  city. 
During  this  engagement,  Mr.  Forrest  was  attacked 
with  an  illness,  so  severe  that  for  awhile  his  life  was  in 
danger.  In  answer  to  a  letter  we  wrote  at  that  time 
to  James  Oakes,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  one  of  Mr.  Forrest's 
old  and  most  intimate  friends  (and  now  one  of  the 
executors  of  his  estate),  we  received  the  following  : 

"  BOSTON,  April  18th,  1872. 

"  Mr.  Forrest  arrived  in  Boston  on  Saturday,  March 
23rd,  in  pretty  good  condition,  save  the  wear  and  tear 
incident  to  his  herculean  professional  efforts  during  the 
previous  six  months.  He  opened  in  Lear,  on  Monday 
evening,  March  25th,  to  an  immense  audience,  and  he 
played  the  old  King,  five  nights  the  first  week,  to  audiences 
composed  of  the  brightest  intelligence  of  Boston.  He 
could  have  filled  the  theatre  for  two  weeks  longer  with 
Lear,  had  the  strain  on  him  permitted  its  continuance. 
On  the  following  Monday  and  Tuesday  evening  he  acted 
Richelieu  superbly,  notwithstanding  he  was  laboring  under 
the  effects  of  a  sudden  and  severe  cold  that  caused  him  to 
be  very  hoarse.  On  Wednesday,  he  was  to  have  acted 
Virginius,  but  during  the  day  the  hoarseness  increased, 
and  towards  evening,  congestion  of  the  throat  was  so 
severe,  that  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  call  a  physician,  as 
Mr.  Forrest  seemed  unwilling  to  abandon  acting  on  that 
night,  as  he  said  he  could  not  bear  the  thought  of  disap 
pointing  a  public  who  had  ever  been  so  kind  and  generous 
to  him.  When,  after  the  physician  had  examined  him 
thoroughly,  he  gave  it  as  his  medical  judgment  that  if  Mr. 
Forrest  attempted  to  perform  that  night,  if  he  did  not  die 
on  the  stage,  he  probably  would  not  survive  until  morning, 
then,  and  not  till  then,  did  Mr.  Forrest  yield  and  give  him 
self  up  to  his  physician.  Within  twenty-four  hours  he  was 
attacked  by  pneumonia,  and  for  several  days  a  fatal  termina 
tion  was  feared.  With  the  aid  of  his  excellent  constitution, 
his  iron  will,  and  unfaltering  courage,  through  God's 
mercy,  he  is  now  nearly  well,  and  will  be  able  to  go  home 
in  the  course  of  a  week.  The  sympathy  for  him  during 
his  illness  has  been  general,  not  only  in  our  city  but 
throughout  our  whole  Commonwealth.  No  man  ever 


400  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

received  a  truer  or  more  general  sympathy  than  has  been 
manifested  towards  Mr.  Forrest.  He  never  in  all  his  life 
acted  better  than  he  did  on  each  of  the  seven  nights  ;  and 
had  this  engagement  been  the  close  of  his  professional 
career,  those  seven  representations  would  have  stood  in 
history  as  a  monument  to  his  splendid  genius,  more  en 
during  than  any  of  marble  or  of  brass  that  could  have 
been  raised." 

From  this  severe  attack  Mr.  Forrest  slowly  re 
covered  ;  and  when  he  emerged  from  the  sick  room,  his 
health  was  shattered,  and  lie  was  incapacitated,  by  a 
paralysis  of  his  limbs,  from  again — at  least  for  a  time 
— appearing  upon  the  stage.  He  reached  his  home, 
and  in  the  quiet  of  his  extensive  library,  surrounded 
by  his  favorite  authors,  or  seated  calmly  in  his  picture- 
gallery,  gazing  upon  gems  of  art  of  his  own  selection — 
or  working  in  his  garden — his  mind  tuned  to  harmony, 
he  found  health  and  strength  reviving  under  these 
cheering  home  influences. 

We  conclude  this  part  of  our  Keminiscences  with 
the  following  beautiful  tribute  to  the  dramatic  genius 
of  Mr.  Forrest,  written  by  one  highly  valued  and  esteem 
ed  in  the  literary  world — a  struggling  bard  for  that 
fame  which  cruel  death  deprived  him  from  reaching. 
Yet  he  died  with  a  wreath  of  poetic  beauty  on  his  brow 
— placed  there  by  those  who  knew  his  worth  and 
mourned  his  loss.  The  article  was  written  when  the 
author  was  under  the  impression  that  Mr.  Forrest  was 
about  retiring  from  the  stage : 

"  Every  lover  of  the  drama  will  hope  that  the  day  may 
be  far  distant  when  his  professional  displays  will  terminate; 
and  the  plaudits  of  his  admiring  countrymen  ring  upon 
his  ears  for  the  last  time.  Whenever  that  event -occurs, 
and  he  ceases  to  be  a  hero  of  the  actual  present,  his  memo 
ry  will  become  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  myriads,  as  be- 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  4Q1 

ing  connected  with  the  most  inspiring  and  exalted  mo 
ments  of  their  lives ;  and  they  will  look  back  at  this  great 
star  of  scenic  splendor,  and  recall  with  delight  those  varied 
and  intense  emotions,  which,  with  magic  power,  he  had 
often  produced  within  them,  when  portraying  so  impres 
sively,  the  joys  and  sorrows,  the  hopes  and  fears,  the 
grandeurs  and  the  vicissitudes  of  humanity. 

"  *  Thus,  by  the  mighty  actor  wrought 
Illusion's  perfect  triumphs  come  ; 
Verse  ceases  to  be  airy  thought, 
And  sculpture  to  be  dumb  1 " 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

RETROSPECTION. — YOUTHFUL    REMINISCENCES.  — FAIR- 
MOUNT. — OLDEN    TIME.  —  PLACE    OF    REHEARSAL. — 

A     CLOSE     STUDENT. PRIVATE     LIFE. COAT     OF 

ARMS. — THE    IDIOT    BOY. — POEM. 

THE  dark  shadow  that  fell  upon  his  early  pathway 
of  life,  had  a  certain  influence  over  his  otherwise 
genial  nature.  It  was  then  he  turned  his  attention 
stronger  than  ever  to  the  stage,  and  endeavored,  by 
constant  action,  to  drive  away  the  gloom  that  was 
gradually  settling  on  his  mind.  And  yet,  how  often  do 
the  stern  realities  of  every-day  life  o'ertop  the  fictions 
of  romance  and  the  stage  !  Where  the  latter  presents 
one  Mrs.  Haller,  the  great  world  produces  thousands ; 
and  when  we  see  portrayed  the  seducer  and  the  plau 
sible  libertine  of  the  drama,  do  we  not  recognize  their 
counterparts  multiplied  ad  infinitum  in  real  life  ? 
During  Mr.  Forrest's  visit  to  the  Springs,  and  other 
places,  on  his  pleasure  tour,  one  or  two  writers  spoke 
25 


402  LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FORREST. 

of  his  taciturn  manner  and  gloomy  aspect ;  and,  as  one 
asserted,  as  "if  laboring  under  mental  depression/' 
Much  of  this  was  simply  imaginary.  Mr.  Forrest  did 
not  court  the  acquaintance  of  strangers,  nor  intrude 
himself  in  their  company,  like  many  of  the  profession 
do.  He  might  have  been  called  distant,  cold  and  for 
mal,  at  a  first  glance  ;  but  a  warmer  heart  and  friend 
lier  disposition,  prone  to  familiarity,  did  not  exist ;  but 
that  familiarity  was  not  the  growth  of  an  instant ;  it 
was  progressive,  and  few  men  possessed  a  greater 
amount  of  true  wit  and  humor  than  did  Edwin  Forrest. 
Those  who  knew  him,  and  visited  him  in  his  "  hours 
of  ease/'  free  from  the  "  fitful  thoughts  "  of  the  past, 
can  readily  contradict  the  statements  of  transient  trav 
ellers  and  letter  writers.  It  was  the  nature  of  Mr.  For 
rest  to  be  social,  and  to  be  a  boy  again — when  we  were 
talking  over  the  bright  days  of  our  youth — how  we 
wandered  on  the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill,  climbed  the 
huge  rocks  that  towered  above  our  heads,  which  seemed 
as  monuments  reared  to-  honor  Nature  ;  but  are  now 
supplanted  by  ornamental  trees,  beauteous  walks,  and 
a  basin  of  water  from  which  flows  to  all  parts  of  the 
city  the  pure  water  of  the  river  Schuylkill.  What  is 
Fairmount  now  ?  In  the  days  of  our  youth  it  was  a 
wild,  romantic  scene  of  rocks  and  mammoth  trees. 
The  hand  of  man  has  transformed  the  wilderness  to  a 
parterre  of  flowers. 

It  was  beneath  the  huge  oaks,  whose  spreading 
branches  shaded  us  from  the  sun,  that  Edwin  Forrest 
first  tried  his  voice  in  "  public  speaking."  As  it  were 
but  yesterday,  we  can  see  him,  in  all  his  boyish  pride, 
reciting  the  speech  from  Douglas  :  "  My  name  is  Nor- 
val,"  etc.,  his  voice  echoing  far  and  wide,  and  through 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FORREST.  4Q3 

the  arena  Nature's  self  had  made.  Nor  was  he  alone  in 
this.  There  was  Jack  Moore,  practising  to  play  Alex 
ander  the  Great ;  but  whose  voice  was  harsh  and  un 
musical,  while  the  former's  was  all  harmony.  Moore 
enacted  Alexander  the  Great,  at  Tivoli  Garden,  in  1818, 
and  Edwin  Forrest,  Young  Norval,  at  the  Walnut 
Street  Theatre,  1820. 

Fairmount  was  a  favorite  resort  of  the  young  men 
of  the  day.  It  was  our  custom  to  meet  on  a  Sunday  at 
Palmer's  printing  office  in  Locust  Street,  above  Eighth, 
and  make  arrangements  for  a  ramble  in  the  country — 
Fairmount  was  the  country  then.  Well  do  we  remem 
ber  meeting  in  the  composing  room  of  this  printing 
office,  with  Benj.  Mifflin,  Washington  Dawson,  Edwin 
Forrest,  Anthony  Seyfert,  J.  H.  Campbell,  Joseph  C. 
Neal,  and  others,  with  whom  all  our  earlier  associations 
are  pleasingly  connected.  We  may  as  well  state  here, 
that  being  four  years  older  than  Mr.  Forrest,  we  looked 
upon  him  at  that  time  as  a  "  boy,"  and  that  our  age 
entitled  us  to  consider  him  our  protege,  which  he  soon 
discovered,  and  resented  as  being  presumptuous.  Since 
then,  when  laughing  over  our  boyish  days,  and  contrast 
ing  the  great  actor  with  ourselves,  we  indeed  thought 
it  the  height  of  presumption.  We  cannot  leave  this 
subject  without  referring  once  more  to  Fairmount. 
Those  who  look  back  to  their  boyhood  days,  and  re 
member  some  well-remembered  play-ground,  can  readily 
appreciate  our  feelings  while  contrasting  the  present 
view  of  this  beautiful  place  with  what  it  was  then.  We 
give  an  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  William  Penn 
to  James  Logan,  in  1701,  showing  his  fancy  for  the 
site  of  the  present  water  works,  and  his  intention  to 
settle  there  if  he  returned,  saying :  "  My  eye,  though  not 


404  LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FORREST. 

my  heart,  is  upon  Fairmount,  unless  the  unworthiness 
of  some  spirits  drive  me  up  to  Pennsburg  or  Susque- 
hanna  for  good  and  all."  Watson,  in  his  Annals  of 
Philadelphia,  speaking  of  Fairmount,  says :  "  All  this 
change  of  Fairmount,  by  the  hand  of  art,  is  a  fair 
exchange  for  the  loss  of  its  original  rugged,  woody  and 
romantic  cliffs  ;  then  all  solitary  and  silent,  now  all 
busy  with  active  life,  and  useful,  by  its  poetic  utility, 
sustaining  the  health,  and  blessing  the  city  inhabitants/' 

Our  readers  can  readily  pardon  this  digression  when 
they  take  into  consideration  that  it  is  a  remembrance 
of  our  youth  which  calls  up  a  scene  so  dear  to  us,  and  as 
the  play-ground  of  one  with  whom  our  earliest  predi 
lections  of  the  stage  are  associated ;  as  also  with  others, 
who,  like  him,  have  passed  away,  and  left  us  in  age  to 
wander  alone  amid  scenes,  which,  although  much 
altered,  still  bear  the  traces  of  their  former  "  rugged  " 
grandeur. 

As  we  have  said,  it  was  the  nature  of  Mr.  Forrest 
to  be  social;  but  the  profession  to  which  he  belonged 
had  drawn  a  curtain  between  him  and  the  real  world. 
The  actor  lives  and  breathes  in  an  atmosphere  of  his 
own — a  sort  of  lesser  world,  different,  far  different  from 
that  of  the  great ;  he  peoples  it  with  the  spirits  of  the 
dead,  talks  to  them  through  books,  and  on  the  stage 
assumes  their  person  and  character.  Thus  the  mind 
becomes  so  imbued,  as  it  were,  with  the  philosophy  of 
the  world  of  letters,  that  it  contracts,  rather  than  ex 
pands,  when  it  comes  in  contact  with  that  of  the  world 
of  art.  It  was  supposed  by  many  that  the  seeming 
sternness  and  gravity  of  Mr.  Forrest  was  of  recent 
origin.  Not  so ;  for  when  a  boy  he  associated  but  little 
with  others,  unless  with  those  who,  like  him,  had  a 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOEEEST.  4Q5 

penchant  for  the  stage.  His  chief  companion  was  a 
play-book,  a  character  in  it,  his  study.  Wrapt  up  in 
the  pleasure  derived  from  such  companionship,  he  found 
but  little  to  amuse  him  beyond  its  pages.  We  called 
him  the  "philosopher  in  petticoats."  We  have  said 
that  Mr.  Forrest  possessed  a  rich  fund  of  wit  and 
humor.  So  he  did,  but  it  was  more  of  a  refined 
than  of  a  coarse  nature.  He  would  illustrate  in  a 
truly  artistic  manner  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  a 
"  Jakey,"  without  his  low  expletives.  He  was  equally 
felicitous  in  imitating  a  Frenchman ;  and  would  keep 
the  table  in  a  roar  by  giving  imitations  of  the  modern 
mode  of  teaching  elocution.  His  rendering  of  the 
"Sailor  Boy's  Dream,"  in  imitation  of  that  peculiar 
school  of  recitation,  was  a  perfect  gem. 

"  A  merrier  man, 

Within  the  limit  of  becoming-  mirth, 
I  never  spent  an  hour's  talk  withal." 

Col.  John  W.  Forney,  in  his  "Anecdotes  of  Public 
Men,"  speaking  of  Mr.  Forrest,  says:  "He  needed  no 
solicitation  to  display  his  varied  stores  of  humor  and 
of  information.  Sketches  of  foreign  travel;  photo 
graphs  of  Southern  manners,  alike  of  the  master  and 
the  slave ;  his  celebrated  French  criticism  upon  Shake 
speare  ;  his  imitation  of  the  old  clergyman  of  Charles 
ton,  South  Carolina,  who,  deaf  himself,  believed  every 
body  else  to  be  so ;  his  thrilling  account  of  his  meeting 
with  Edmund  Kean,  at  Albany,  when  Forrest  was  a 
boy ;  his  incidents  of  Gen.  Jaekson ;  his  meeting  with 
Lafayette,  at  Richmond,  in  1825.  Few  that  heard 
him  can  ever  forget  that  night.  But  nothing  that  he 
did  will  be  remembered  longer  than  the  manner  in 
which  he  recited  '  The  Idiot  Boy/  a  production  up  to 


40G  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

that  time  unknown  to  everybody  in  the  room  except 
Forrest  and  myself,  and  to  me,  only  because  I  heard 
him  repeat  it  seven  years  before,  when  I  lived  on 
Eighth  Street,  in  the  house  lately  known  as  the 
Waverly." 

Another  writer  said  : 

ME.   FORREST   WAS  A   GREAT  STUDEKT. 

"  Having  received  but  little  instruction  in  his  boyhood, 
from  the  time  fortune  dawned  upon  him,  he  sought  by 
every  means  that  wealth  and  determination  could  give  him 
to  make  himself  an  accomplished  man.  His  library  in 
Philadelphia,  of  which  everybody  has  heard,  was  his  home, 
his  resting-place;  and  here  he  gathered  such  a  store  of 
literary  knowledge  as  but  few  men  acquire,  even  in  a 
longer  life  than  sixty-seven  years.  Mr.  John  W.  Forney 
has  been  heard  to  say,  on  returning  from  a  visit  to  Mr. 
Forrest,  that  Forrest  wras  a  fresh  surprise  to  him  each  hour 
he  spent  in  his  company.  His  knowledge  was  not  confined 
to  dramatic  literature  alone.  He  was  a  good  classical 
scholar,  a  remarkably  acute  and  learned  lawyer,  and  his 
knowledge  of  science  and  arts  alone  would  have  made  him 
a  foremost  man  in  any  country." 

The  writer  of  these  Keminiscences,  during  this  in 
terregnum  in  the  professional  life  of  his  friend,  and 
while  he  was  preparing  for  his  readings,  spent  much  of 
his  leisure  time  with  him,  and  occasionally  partook  of 
a  "quiet  supper"  at  his  house.  Mr.  Forrest  had,  in  a 
measure,  shut  himself  out  from  society;  and  it  may 
well  be  said,  he  lived  a  lonely  life.  How  many  of  his 
old  friends  would  have  been  delighted  to  render  his 
loneliness  more  cheerful  ? 

MR.  FORREST'S  COAT  OF  ARMS. 

One  day  we  found  him  busily  engaged  drawing 
something  on  a  card ;  it  was  a  design,  tastefully,  if  not 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  407 

artistically  arranged.  "  Look  at  that,"  said  he,  holding 
it  up  to  our  view;  "What  do  you  think  of  it ?" 

"Why,  it  is  your  coat  of  arms  !" 

"How  do  you  like  the  design?" 

"Very  well;  and  the  trees  and  the  leaves,  entwi 
ning,  quite  appropriate.  Is  it  your  own  design?" 

"  Certainly ;  it  requires  but  a  little  stretch  of  the 
imagination  to  get  up  such  a  thing  as  this;"  throwing 
it  scornfully,  it  seemed  to  us,  on  the  table.  "These 
things,"  he  continued,  "savor  too  much  of  foreign  aris 
tocracy,  which,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  too  many  of  our 
people  follow.  With  us,  true  nobility  lies  in  the  heart, 
the  soul,  and  mind  of  man,  not  in  ancestry."  Here  he 
recited  a  passage  from  some  author,  which  we  forget, 
forcibly  illustrating  the  folly  of  boasting  of  rank  and 
descent.  Forrest  was  to  our  "manor  born,"  and  es 
chewed  everything  of  a  foreign  character,  calculated  to 
corrupt  and  demoralize  our  "manners"  and  customs. 
He  was  an  American,  heart  and  soul.  The  card  repre 
sented  a  tree,  resting  on  a  closed  helmet,  around  and 
about  which  were  wreaths  of  oak  leaves.  Portions  of 
the  lower  part  of  the  helmet  rested  on  a  shield ;  and  in 
stead  of  the  usual  Argent  bars,  azure,  and  gules,  there 
were  three  trees  placed  in  circular  form,  standing  on  a 
green  ground,  which  color  characterized  the  other  por 
tions  of  the  crest.  Immediately  beneath  the  shield,  was 
the  following  motto:  "  Vivunt  dum  Virent;"  and  un 
derneath  this  was  a  tablet,  sustained  as  it  were  by  the 
wings  of  a  bird,  on  which  was  engraved  the  name 
"FORREST."  Altogether,  it  was  a  beautiful  design. 
The  original  is  now  in  our  possession. 

We  allude  to  these  peculiarities  here  for  the  pur 
pose  of  doing  away  with  an  impression  that  Mr.  For- 


408  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

rest  was  a  melancholy  man ;  he  may  have  had  his 
hours  of  sadness  and  of  gloom ;  he  may  have  looked 
despondently  back  over  the  past,  and  traced  upon  its 
surface  those  shadows  that  still  dim  memory's  mirror, 
despite  of  all  our  attempts  to  erase  them;  with  all 
this,  the  true  nature  of  the  man  was  there. 

"  His  bold  brow 
Bore  the  scars  of  mind,  tlie  thoughts 

Of  years, 
But  not  their  decrepitude." 

Even  the  silence  and  quiet  of  his  library,  sur 
rounded  by  the  still  monitors  of  the  world  of  letters 
alone,  the  pale  light  streaming  down  upon  the  open 
pages  of  a  book,  could  not  put  out  the  flame  of  youth 
which  lingered  in  his  heart.  Still  the  influence  of  the 
stage  and  the  dramatic  school,  more  or  less,  had  its 
effect  upon  him,  making  him  at  times  less  cheerful, 
and  uncompanionable ;  but  when  the  spirit  of  the  once 
"  wild  dreaming  boy "  was  aroused,  you  found  him  a 
different  being,  and  as  Col.  John  W.  Forney  said,  "  he 
was  one  of  us/'  and  not  the  misanthrope,  letter  writers 
would  make  him. 

Again,  if  you  touched  an  intellectual  chord,  you 
awakened  within  him  those  hidden  fires  of  genius 
which  shone  so  brightly  in  mimic  scenes.  Among  men 
of  mind,  Mr.  Forrest  could  maintain,  nay  lead  the 
conversation  upon  any  subject ;  for  he  had  not  only 
studied  books,  those  epitomes  of  the  world,  but  he  had 
read  the  great  book  of  creation  in  its  original  text. 
Conversant  with  the  classics,  familiar  with  the  writers 
of  every  age,  his  deductions  were  made  not  from  the 
ideas  of  the  superficial,  but  from  those  of  minds  capable 
of  forming,  reasoning,  and  classifying.  His  arguments 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKKEST.  409 

were  listened  to  with  attention ;  for  he  was  bold,  ener 
getic,  original,  and  at  times  unanswerable.  Such,  in 
fact,  was  Mr.  Forrest  in  the  private  circle.  There  are 
those  who  imagined  Mr.  Forrest  a  Hamlet  in  private 
life  ;  a  sort  of  melancholy  prince  of  the  household,  and 
put  the  meaning  of  words  into  his  mouth  to  suit 
their  own  critical  notion.  They  would  have  him  say: 

"  Oh,  that  this  too,  too  solid 

Flesh  would  melt, 

Thaw,  and  resolve  into  a  dew." 

When,  in  fact,  he  would  have  it  do  no  such  thing. 
They  would  synonymal  passages  of  Shakespeare  ex 
pressly  for  him — passages  that  only  affected  him  as  the 
actor,  not  as  the  man.  We  have  heard  people  say 
how  suited  is  such  and  such  a  passage  to  Mr.  Forrest 
— how  apt,  and  illustrative,  and  how  forcibly  and 
pointedly  did  he  deliver  them.  One  we  quote : 

"And  yet,  to  me,  what  is  the  quintescence  of  dust? 
Man  delights  not  me — nor  woman  neither;  though  by 
your  smiling  you  seem  to  say  so." 

It  is  here  Hamlet  spoke  truth ;  but  that  the  actor 
should  be  accused  of  placing  particular  stress  upon 
the  lines  to  suit  himself,  is  ridiculous.  We  said 
Hamlet  spoke  the  truth,  as  regarded  himself,  and  it 
is  to  be  regretted  that  Shakespeare,  in  connection  with 
this  beautiful  passage,  should  have  made  Rosencranz 
tell  a  most  deliberate  falsehood,  for  he  immediately 
answers : 

"  My  Lord,  there  was  no  such  stuff  in  my  thoughts," 

and  turns  off  the  questioning  with  another  lie,  by  making 
an  allusion  to  the  players.  Passages  of  Othello  have 
also  been  quoted,  as  being  pet  subjects  for  the  display 


410  LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FORREST. 

of  Mr.  Forrest's  peculiar  temperament.  Edwin  Forrest, 
in  personal  appearance,  was  a  man  who  did  not  ask, 
but  demanded  attention ;  he  was  tall,  dignified,  grave, 
and  at  times  absolutely  majestic;  courteous  in  speech, 
affable  in  manner ;  in  thought,  feeling,  and  action,  a 
gentleman.  His  eye  was  full  of  fire  and  expression. 
His  voice  possessed  remarkable  compass,  both  for 
power  and  melody ;  from  the  awful  curse  of  Lear,  and 
the  passion  of  jealousy  depicted  by  the  Moor,  down 
to  the  delivery  of  the  simple  story  of  the  "  Idiot  Boy;  " 
there  never  was  such  a  voice,  so  tuned  to  pathos, 
so  aroused  to  torrents  of  passion,  invoked  by  the  emo 
tions  of  the  character  he  had  to  portray,  heard  upon 
the  stage.  There  are  many  passages  in  Shakespeare 
whose  sublimity  and  grandeur  are  only  surpassed  by 
those  of  the  Bible,  which  no  actor,  either  living  or 
dead,  that  we  ever  heard,  could  approach  Edwin  For 
rest  in  the  delivering  of  them. 

THE    IDIOT    BOY. 

Those  who  have  heard  this  touching  effusion  re 
cited  by  Mr.  Forrest  will  never  forget  either  the 
pathos  with  which  he  rendered  it,  or  his  simple  af 
fecting  introduction  to  it.  In  speaking  one  day  of 
this  poem,  and  its  author,  Mr.  Forrest  stated  that 
he  was  under  the  impression  it  was  written  by  a 
brother  of  the  poet  Southey. 

"  It  had  pleased  God  to  form  poor  Ned 

A  thing  of  idiot  mind, 
Yet  to  the  poor  unreasoning1  boy 
God  had  not  been  unkind. 

Old  Sarah  loved  her  helpless  child, 

Whom  helplessness  made  dear, 
And  life  was  everything  to  him 

Who  knew  no  hope  nor  fear. 


LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FOKREST.  411 


She  knew  his  wants,  she  understood 

Each  half  artic'late  call ; 
For  he  was  everything  to  her, 

And  she  to  him  was  all. 

And  so  for  many  a  year  they  lived, 

Nor  knew  a  wish  beside  ; 
But  age  at  length  on  Sarah  came, 

And  she  fell  sick  and  died. 

He  tried  in  vain  to  'waken  her  : 

He  called  her  o'er  and  o'er, 
They  told  him  she  was  dead  :  the  words 

To  him  no  import  bore. 

They  closed  her  eyes  and  shrouded  her, 
Whilst  he  stood -wond'ring  by  ; 

And  when  they  bore  her  to  the  grave, 
He  followed  silently. 

They  laid  her  in  the  narrow  house, 
And  sung  the  funeral  stave  ; 

And  when  the  mournful  train  dispersed, 
He  loitered  by  the  grave. 

The  rabble  boys  that  used  to  jeer 
Whene'er  they  saw  poor  Ned, 

Now  stood  and  watched  him  at  the  grave, 
And  not  a  word  was  said. 

They  came  and  went  and  came  again, 

And  night  at  last  drew  on  ; 
Yet  still  he  lingered  at  the  place 

Till  every  one  was  gone. 

And  when  he  found  himself  alone, 

He  quick  removed  the  clay, 
And  raised  the  coffin  in  his  arms 

And  bore  it  swift  away. 

Straight  went  he  to  his  mother's  cot, 

And  laid  it  on  the  floor ; 
And  with  the  eagerness  of  joj 

He  barred  the  cottage  dooi 

At  once  he  placed  his  mother's  corpse 

Upright  within  her  chair ; 
And  then  he  heaped  the  hearth  and  blew 

The  kindling  fire  with  care. 


412          LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FOKREST. 


She  now  was  in  her  wonted  chair, 

It  was  her  wonted  place, 
And  bright  the  fire  blazed  and  flashed, 

Reflected  from  her  face. 

Then  bending  down  he'd  feel  her  hands, 

Anon  her  face  behold  ; 
Why,  mother,  do  you  look  so  pale — 

And  why  are  you  so  cold  ? 

And  when  the  neighbors  on  next  morn 
Had  forced  the  cottage  door, 

Old  Sarah's  corpse  was  in  the  chair, 
And  Ned's  was  on  the  floor. 


It  had  pleased  God  from  this  poor  boy 

His  only  friend  to  call : 
Yet  God  was  not  unkind  to  him, 

For  death  restored  him  all ! " 


CHAPTER   XXXIX. 

OUR  DRAMATIC  AUTHORS.  —  THE  STAGE.  —  RICHARD 
PENN  SMITH'S  CAIUS  MARIUS. — WHEN  FIRST  PRO 
DUCED. —  HOW  IT  WAS  RECEIVED. —  AN  AUTHOR'S 
TRIALS. — HIS  GOOD  NATURE. — EXTRACT  FROM  THE 
PLAY. — ANECDOTES. 

~TN  the  last  chapter  we  left  Mr.  Forrest  enjoying 
-*-  the  comforts  of  home ;  but  he  was  not  idle ;  his 
spirit  could  not  brook  complete  inanity,  and,  in  con 
sultation  with  his  friends,  he  decided  to  give  Shake- 
sperian  readings.  At  first  we  objected  to  this  step. 
"Wait,"  we  said,  "a  little  longer.  You  are  now  im 
proving  in  health  so  rapidly,  that  you  will  in  a  very 
short  time  be  enabled  to  enact  Lear,  Eichelieu,  and 
the  Broker  of  Bogota,  three  of  your  best  characters, 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  413 

as  well  as  ever.  Your  lameness  will  not  be  perceivable, 
as  age  and  infirmity  are  essential  in  giving  due  effect 
to  their  impersonation." 

"I  have  thought  of  that/'  he  said;  "and  if  this 
medicine  should  effect  a  cure  " — alluding  to  some  vile 
nostrum  he  was  taking — "  I  will  follow  your  advice  ; 
in  the  meantime,  these  readings  will  not  interfere  with 
my  future  arrangements." 

Alas !  that  future  to  him  was  oblivion.  The  fu 
ture  !  alas !  who  can  look  into  that  dark  unfathomless 
gulf  and  stay  his  footsteps  on  its  brink  ? 

"  Out,  out,  brief  candle ! 
Life's  but  a  walking  shadow ;  a  poor  player, 
That  struts  and  frets  his  hour  upon  the  stage, 
And  then  is  heard  no  more ;  it  is  a  tale 
Told  by  an  idiot,  full  of  sound  and  fury, 

Signifying  nothing." 

Before  we  bring  Mr.  Forrest  before  the  public  as  a 
reader,  let  us  introduce  the  names  of  those  American 
authors  and  their  productions  which  the  genius  of  the 
great  actor  brought  so  eminently  before  the  American 
people. 

OUR   DRAMATIC   AUTHORS. — THE   STAGE. 

"  For  thee,  the  bard  shall  draw  from  every  clime, 
The  swelling  triumph  and  the  curtained  crime ; 
Death's  moss-grown  gates  unbar,  the  sleepers  wake, 
To  charm  the  good,  and  bid  the  guilty  quake." 

The  name  of  Mr.  Forrest  is  closely  identified  with 
what  is  aptly  termed  the  American  Drama.  Several 
fine  productions  have  been  written  principally  through 
his  instrumentality,  which  else,  perhaps,  would  never 
have  found  their  way  into  existence.  Instead  of 
hoarding  the  profits  of  his  industry  (which  were  earned 
solely  by  hazardous  toil,  and  which,  truly,  none  had  a 


414  LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

better  right  to  retain),  he  devoted  a  part  of  it  to  the 
rise  of  dramatic  literature ;  and  while  he  thus  held 
forth  a  sufficient  stimulus  to  rouse  the  inactive  to 
action,  had  himself  exerted  his  own  talent  in  support 
of  these  productions.  If  in  one  or  two  instances  the 
pieces  failed  to  meet  the  public  approbation,  it  was 
not  owing  to  any  fault  of  the  actor ;  still  he  gave  to 
them  the  finishing  touch  of  art,  thus  rendering  their 
dramatic  imperfections  less  apparent.  Those  that 
were  successful  will  still  retain  their  place  on  the  stage; 
but  we  question,  even  with  all  their  merit,  whether 
others  will  be  enabled  to  sustain  the  character  so  ably 
as  did  that  great  master  of'  the  histrionic  art.  It  will 
be  long  before  the  impression  Mr.  Forrest  made  in  such 
characters  as  Metarnora,  Spartacus,  Jack  Cade,  Broker 
of  Bogota,  Oraloosa,  and  Caius  Marius,  will  be  erased 
from  the  public  mind.  Mr.  Forrest  has  done  more  indi 
vidually,  than  all  the  theatres  in  the  country  combined, 
to  draw  forth  and  reward  the  talents  of  native  drama 
tists.  Identified  thus  with  our  literature,  and  pos 
sessing  wealth  sufficient  to  do  much  good,  Mr.  Forrest, 
of  course,  received  the  just  praise,  of  just  men,  for  the 
manner  in  which  he  used  his  position  to  advance  the 
interest  of  our  dramatic  literature.  Well  was  it  said 
by  the  late  Judge  Conrad,  that  "  The  drama  here  is 
yet  in  its  infancy.  Let  it  be  fostered,  and  who  can 
foresee  its  destiny  ?  Let  it  be  fostered  not  with  false 
tenderness,  or  indiscreet  indulgence,  but  with  a  care, 
vigorous  but  parental,  frostly  but  kindly." 

RICHARD    PENN    SMITHES   CAIUS    MARIUS. 

This  play  was  produced  at  the  Arch  Street  Thea 
tre,  January  12th,  1831.     It  was  not  fairly  treated  by 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FOEEEST.  415 

the  actors,  many  of  whom  were  imperfect  in  the  words 
of  the  author.  Mr.  Forrest,  always  perfect  in  his  part, 
fought  bravely,  and  almost  alone,  to  save  the  piece. 
Even  after  a  careful  rehearsal,  its  success  was  ques 
tionable,  and  Mr.  Forrest  had  to  drop  it  from  his  re 
pertoire.  The  tragedy  possesses  sterling  merit  as  a 
literary  production,  the  language  is  uniformly  vigorous, 
and  the  sentiments  poetical  and  just.  With  all  these, 
the  very  attributes  of  a  good  play,  it  lacked  the  most 
important — action  and  effect;  the  curtain  falls  grace 
fully  on  each  act  to  some  beautiful  sentiment,  but  no 
tableaux  to  create  applause ;  a  sound  that  falls  upon 
the  author  and  actor  as  refreshing  as  the  dew  of 
Heaven. 

Kichard  Penn  Smith  was  a  native  of  Philadelphia, 
and  a  member  of  the  bar.  From  his  father,  William 
Moore  Smith,  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  of  highly 
polished  education  and  manners,  and  a  poet  of  consid 
erable  reputation  in  his  day,  he  inherited  a  taste  for 
letters,  and  was  early  distinguished  for  the  extent  and 
variety  of  his  acquirements.  His  first  appearance  as 
an  author  was  in  the  columns  of  the  Union,  where  he 
published  a  series  of  letters,  moral  and  literary,  under 
the  title  of  the  "Plagiary."  About  the  close  of  the 
year  1822,  he  purchased  the  newspaper  establishment, 
then  well-known  throughout  the  country,  as  the  Au 
rora,  from  Mr.  Duane,  and  assumed  the  arduous  and 
responsible  duties  of  an  editor.  At  this  dray-horse 
work  he  continued  about  five  years,  when,  finding  it 
both  wearisome  and  unprofitable,  he  abandoned  it,  and 
resumed  his  profession.  A  good  classical  scholar,  and 
a  tolerable  linguist,  with  a  decided  bent  for  the  pur 
suits  of  literature,  his  mind  was  well  stored  with  the 


416  LIFE     OP    EDWIN    FORKEST. 

classics,  both  ancient  and  modern ;  and  amid  the  vexa 
tions  and  drudgery  of  a  daily  newspaper,  he  wooed  the 
muses  with  considerable  success.  Perhaps  to  the  dis 
cipline  which  editorship  necessarily  imposes,  and  the 
promptness  which  it  requires,  may  in  part  be  attri 
buted  the  great  facility  he  possessed  in  composition. 
While  engaged  in  the  duties  of  a  profession,  generally 
considered  uncongenial  to  the  successful  prosecution  of 
literary  adventure,  he  produced  a  number  and  variety 
of  pieces,  both  in  prose  and  verse,  which  showed  con 
siderable  versatility  of  talent.  His  favorite  study  was 
the  drama,  and  with  this  department  of  literature  he 
was  thoroughly  familiar.  With  the  dramatists  of  all 
nations  he  had  an  extensive  acquaintance,  and  in  the 
dramatic  history  of  England  and  France  he  was  pro 
foundly  versed.  Perhaps  there  are  few  who  studied 
the  old  English  masters  in  this  art  with  more  devoted 
attention,  and  with  a  keener  enjoyment  of  their  beau 
ties.  But  it  is  not  alone  in  the  keen  enjoyment  and 
appreciation  of  others  that  he  deserves  attention.  He 
has  given  ample  evidence  that  he  possessed  no  ordinary 
power  for  original  effort  in  this  most  difficult  depart 
ment  of  literature. 

We  do  not  know  how  many  plays  he  has  produced, 
but  the  following,  all  from  his  pen,  have  been  .per 
formed  at  different  periods:  Quite  Correct;  Eighth  of 
January;  The  Disowned,  or  the  Prodigals;  The  De 
formed,  or  Woman's  Trial;  A  Wife  at  a  Venture  ;  The 
Sentinels;  William  Penn;  The  Triumph  of  Platts- 
burg;  Caius  Marius;  The  Water  Witch;  Is  She  a 
Brigand ;  My  Uncle's  Wedding  ;  The  Daughter ;  The 
Actress  of  Padua ;  and  The  Bravo. 

As  an  evidence  of  his  facility  in  composition,   it 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FOKREST.  417 

may  be  mentioned  that  several  of  his  pieces  were 
written  and  performed  at  a  week's  notice.  The 
entire  last  act  of  William  Penn  was  written  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  day  previous  to  its  performance, 
yet  this  hasty  production  ran  ten  successive  nights, 
drawing  full  houses,  and  has  since  been  several  times 
revived.  His  Deformed,  and  Disowned,  two  dramas, 
which  may  be  compared  favorably  with  any  similar 
productions  of  this  country,  were  both  performed  with 
great  success  in  London. 

If  green-room  anecdotes  can  be  depended  on,  Mr. 
Smith  was  blessed  with  a  much  thicker  skin  than 
usually  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  genus  irratdbile  vatum. 
It  is  said  that  on  one  occasion  he  happened  to  enter  the 
theatre,  during  the  first  run  of  one  of  his  pieces,  just 
as  the  curtain  was  falling,  and  met  with  an  old  school 
fellow  who  had  that  day  arrived  in  Philadelphia,  after 
an  absence  of  several  years.  The  first  salutation  was 
scarcely  over,  when  the  curtain  fell,  and  the  author's 
friend  innocently  remarked,  "  Well,  this  is  really  the 
most  insufferable  trash  that  I  have  witnessed  for 
some  time."  "  True,"  replied  Smith,  "  but  as  they 
give  me  a  benefit  to-morrow  night  as  the  author,  I 
hope  to  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  here  again." 
At  another  time,  a  friend  met  him  in  the  lobby  as 
the  green  curtain  fell,  like  a  funeral  pall,  on  one  of 
his  progeny,  and  unconscious  of  its  paternity,  asked 
the  author,  with  a  sneer,  what  the  piece  was  all 
about.  "  Really,"  was  the  grave  answer,  "  it  is  now 
some  years  since  I  wrote  that  piece,  and  though  I 
paid  the  utmost  attention  to  the  performance,  I  con 
fess  I  am  as  much  in  the  dark  as  you  are." 

In  1831,  Mr.  Smith  published  a  work  in  two  vol- 
26 


418  LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FORREST. 

umes,  called  the  "Forsaken/5  the  scene  of  which  was 
laid  in  Philadelphia  and  the  adjoining  country,  during 
our  revolutionary  struggle.  At  that  time,  American 
novels — with  the  exception  of  Cooper's,  were  not  re 
ceived  with  the  same  favor  as  now ;  but  a  large  edi 
tion  of  the  "Forsaken^'  was  even  then  disposed  of, 
and  it  obtained  from  all  quarters  strong  commenda 
tion.  In  our  judgment,  it  is  a  work  highly  creditable 
to  the  author.  The  story  is  interesting,  and  in  its 
progress,  fiction  is  blended  with  historical  truth  with 
considerable  skill  and  force. 

Mr.  Smith  also  published  two  volumes,  entitled 
"The  Actress  of  Padua,  and  other  Tales,"  which 
have  been  eminently  successful.  As  a  writer  of  short 
tales,  he  was  natural  and  unaffected  in  manner,  cor 
rect  in  description,  concise  in  expression,  and  happy 
in  the  selection  of  incidents.  He  possessed,  more 
over,  a  quiet  humor,  and  an  occasional  sarcasm,  which 
made  his  productions  both  pleasant  and  pungent. 

Mr.  Smith  wrote  much  for  the  periodical  literature 
of  the  day,  both  political  and  literary,  and  his  po 
etical  pieces,  if  collected,  would  make  a  large  volume ; 
but  these  appear  to  have  been  scattered  abroad,  with 
out  any  purpose  of  reclamation.  His  name  is  at 
tached  to  a  limited  number,  which  are  distinguished 
by  a  healthy  tone  of  thought,  neatness  of  expression, 
and  harmony  of  versification  ;  but  as,  generally,  they 
were  produced  for  some  particular  occasion,  they  have 
— most  of  them,  at  least — passed  into  oblivion  with 
the  occasion  that  called  them  into  existence. 

The  following  extract  from  Caius  Marius,  may  be 
considered  a  fair  specimen  of  his  style  : 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  419 

ACT  V.— SCENE  V. 

The  Capitol.  A  Festive  Board  decorated.  MARIUS  and  SOLDIERS 
seated  with  goblets  before  them.  MARTHA,  the  Sybil,  near  MARIUS. 
CINNA  and  SULPITIUS  standing  at  the  wing. 

Marius. — "Fill  up  your  goblets,  till  the  rosy  wine 
Sparkles  like  Sylla's  blood.     Drink  to  the  shades 
Of  the  Ambrones  and  the  Cimbril ;  drink 
To  those  whom  Marius  vanquished.     See,  they  come ; 
The  yelling  spirits  of  the  savage  Teutons, 
And  mad  Jugurtha,  foaming  'neath  his  chains, 
Arise  to  join  the  pledge.     Drink  deep,  I  say, 
To  th'  enemies  of  Rome,  for  they  are  now 
The  friends  of  Marius. 

Sulpitius. — How  his  eyes  glare ! 

Marius. — Who  was  it  saved  ungrateful  Italy, 
When  swarms  of  savages  like  locusts  came, 
To  batten  on  her  fertile  fields  and  vineyards  ? 
Whose  name  struck  terror  through  the  countless  horde, 
And  checked  the  progress  of  the  sweeping  deluge, 
And  turn'd  its  fearful  course  ?     'Twas  Marius ! 
Who  was  it  led  proud  Afric's  haughty  king, 
In  triumph,  at  his  chariot  wheels,  through  Rome, 
Until  the  monarch,  who  for  years  defied  her, 
Became  imbecile,  and  deprived  of  reason  ? 
'Twas  Marius ! " 

Mr.  Forrest  paid  much  better  for  original  plays 
than  the  managers,  who  being  able  to  purchase  the 
best  plays  of  English  dramatists  for  a  few  dollars, 
felt  little  disposition  to  risk  hundreds  on  native  pro 
ductions,  which,  unaided  by  the  talent  of  an  acknowl 
edged  star,  seldom  outlive  the  first  night  of  repre 
sentation. 

ANECDOTES. 

There  are  numerous  anecdotes  related  of  Kichard 
Penn  Smith,  all  of  which  display  the  most  ready  wit, 
and  sarcastic  humor.  Indeed,  he  was  so  celebrated  for 
repartee  and  off-hand  sayings,  that  he  was  actually 
dreaded  in  company,  and  very  few  had  the  courage  to 
measure  lances  with  him  when  wit  was  the  prize.  A 
few  we  give  here : 

When  Mr.  Smith  was  a  young  man;  he  was  intro- 


420  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

duced  by  his  father  to  a  well-known  Philadelphian,  by 
the  name  of  Wharton,  who,  from  the  fact  of  having  a 
very  large  nose  with  a  wart  on  it,  was  called,  "  Big 
nosed  Wharton,"  to  distinguish  him  from  another  gen 
tleman  by  the  same  name.  When  out  of  hearing,  the 
father  said  to  the  son,  "  They  call  that  gentleman  big 
nosed  Wharton."  The  son  quickly  replied,  "  They 
have  made  a  mistake,  they  should  call  him  Wart-on 
big  nose." 

Upon  going  one  day  into  a  hotel  in  which  some 
of  his  friends  were  holding  an  argument  about  the  city 
of  Dumfries,  Scotland,  they  made  an  appeal  to  him 
to  decide  the  question.  "I  know  nothing  of  tJie  Dum 
fries  of  Scotland,  but  I  know  a  Dumb  -freas  of  German- 
town."  Mr.  Freas  of  the  Gerniantown  Telegraphy  was 
sitting  within  hearing  at  the  time. 

He  was  one  evening  sitting  at  the  table  of  a  dinner 
given  to  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  by  the  Bar 
of  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Smith  had  his  health  drank,  and 
when  he  arose  to  reply,  a  well-known  lawyer  by  the 
name  of  Robert  M.  Lee,  pulled  him  by  the  coat  and 
urged  him  to  toast  him.  As  Mr.  Smith  closed  his  re 
marks,  he  said : 

"  Gentlemen,  you  have  toasted  the  Binneys',  Raw- 
les',  and  Sergeants'  of  the  bar,  allow  me  to  offer  the  lees 
— <  Here  is  to  the  health  of  Robert  M.  Lee/  "  Mr.  Lee 
did  not  see  the  joke,  and  replied  to  the  amusement  of 
all  present. 

Mr.  Smith  always  raised  his  own  pork.  On  one 
occasion  he  had  them  killed  on  the  eighth  of  January. 
The  next  day  he  met  a  friend  who  remarked  :  "  Smith, 
yesterday  was  a  fine  day  for  killing  pigs."  "  Yes," 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FORREST.  421 

replied  Smith,   "but  it  was  a  bad  day  for  Packing- 
ham." 

Mr.  Smith  died  on  August  12th,  1854. 


CHAPTEK  XL. 

DR.     ROBERT     MONTGOMERY     BIRD. HIS      BIRTH     AND 

EDUCATION.  STUDIES      MEDICINE.  BECOMES      A 

POET. CELEBRATED    AS   A    NOVELIST. FAMOUS    AS 

A    DRAMATIST. THE    GLADIATOR  A  GREAT  SUCCESS. 

FORREST     AS     SPARTACUS. ORALOOSA. BROKER 

OF    BOGOTA. 

IN  Chapter  VII.  allusions  were  made  to  Dr.  Bird, 
in  connection  with  the   subject  of  these  Remin 
iscences.     We  will  now  give  some  further  account  of 
the  beautiful  productions  of  this  highly  accomplished 
gentleman  and  scholar. 

Dr.  Robert  Montgomery  Bird  was  born  in  New 
castle,  Del.,  in  the  year  1805,  and  died  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  January  23rd,  1854.  It  is  too  often  the 
case,  and  we  deeply  regret  it,  that  the  memory  of  our 
literary  men,  as  well  as  their  works,  are  permitted  to 
pass  away  from  us,  without  an  effort  to  keep  them  be 
fore  the  world,  and  remain  as  finger-posts,  to  point  the 
ambitious  to  that  "majesty  of  worth,"  from  whence 
immortality  springs.  Fame,  literary  fame,  with  us  is 
evanescent,  a  mere  streak  of  sunshine  over  the  dark 
scenes  of  dull  plodding  life.  Few  live  in  favor  of  the 
world ;  few  die  who  are  remembered  afterwards,  unless 
some  peculiar  and  striking  feature,  in  their  literary 
career,  is  calculated  to  repay  the  trouble  of  re-produ- 


422  LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FORKEST. 

cing  their  works.  Having  no  standard  of  literature  of 
our  own,  no  national  feeling  upon  the  subject,  it  is 
not  to  be  expected  that  the  works  of  an  author  will  live 
in  after  ages,  when  the  estimate  of  an  age  with  us — is 
a  season. 

Dr.  Bird  was  a  pupil  of  Mount  Airy  College,  Grer- 
mantown;  after  leaving  which,  he  studied  medicine, 
and  received  his  degree  of  M.  D.,  from  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania ;  but,  we  believe,  never  experimented 
with  human  life,  to  test  his  ability  to  cure.  This,  we 
conceive  to  have  been  one  of  the  most  humane  traits  in 
his  character. 

His  first  appearance,  as  an  author,  was  in  1828, 
when  he  published  in  the  Philadelphia  Monthly  Maga 
zine,  three  spirited  tales,  entitled,  "  The  Ice  Island," 
"  The  Spirit  of  the  Keeds,"  and  the  "  Phantom  Play 
ers,"  besides  several  short  pieces  of  poetry,  the  best  of 
which  was  "  Saul's  Last  Day."  At  this  time,  Dr. 
Bird  had  already  written  several  tragedies,  in  imitation 
of  the  old  English  Drama,  but  none  of  his  labors  at 
that  period  had  ever  been  submitted  to  the  public. 
We  recollect  perusing  the  manuscript  of  two,  which 
gave  promise  of  the  distinction  that  awaited  him  as  a 
dramatist.  They  were  entitled  "  The  Cowl'd  Lover," 
and  "  Caridorf."  If  these  productions  were  now  to  be 
revived,  we  have  no  doubt  they  would  advance  the  au 
thor's  reputation  as  a  poet.  At  this  period  he  had  also 
written  two  or  three  regular  comedies,  but  it  struck  us 
that  his  comic  powers  did  not  bear  him  through  as  tri 
umphantly  as  his  talents  for  delineating  the  terrible  and 
sublime  had  done.  Edwin  Forrest,  who  has  done  more 
individually,  than  all  the  theatres  in  the  country  com 
bined,  to  draw  forth  and  reward  the  talents  of  native 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FORREST.  423 

dramatists,  was  the  means  of  introducing  Dr.  Bird  at 
his  very  onset,  as  a  writer,  triumphantly  to  the  whole 
American  people.  This  was  on  the  first  production  of 
the  tragedy  of  the  Gladiator,  written  with  a  view  to  the 
powers  and  talents  of  Mr.  Forrest ;  and  it  has  seldom 
occurred  that  author  and  actor  were  so  much  indebted 
to  each  other,  as  on  this  occasion.  The  piece  was  em 
inently  successful  throughout  the  Union ;  and,  although 
written  exclusively  with  a  view  to  the  stage,  it  abounds 
with  poetic  passages,  and  possesses  no  ordinary  share 
of  literary  merit.  The  scene  in  the  arena,  at  the  close 
of  the  second  act,  when  the  gladiators  break  loose  from 
their  tyrants,  and  raise  the  standard  of  freedom,  is  not 
surpassed  on  the  score  of  originality  and  effect,  by  any 
scene  in  any  modern  drama.  This  tragedy  was  speedily 
followed  by  another,  entitled,  Oraloosa,  founded  on  the 
cruelty  of  the  Spaniards  in  Peru,  but  it  never  acquired 
the  popularity  of  its  predecessor,  though  received  upon 
the  stage  with  every  mark  of  public  favor.  Oraloosa, 
was  succeeded  by  the  Broker  of  Bogota,  which  we  con 
sider  the  most  finished  of  Dr.  Bird's  dramas.  It  did 
not  create  the  decided  impression  that  was  produced 
by  the  Gladiator,  for  there  was  nothing  of  the  drums 
and  trumpets,  and  battling  for  freedom,  which  this  play 
affords,  to  put  the  spirit  in  motion;  but  the  Broker 
of  Bogota,  viewed  as  a  specimen  of  dramatic  art,  sur 
passes  either  of  the  other  pieces.  All  these  tragedies 
were  written  expressly  for  Mr.  Forrest,  and  were  per 
formed  by  him  with  eminent  success.  Prior  to  the 
production  of  either,  Dr.  Bird  had  written  a  trag 
edy,  entitled,  Pelopidas,  fitted  to  the  powers  of  our 
tragedian,  and  every  way  calculated  to  enhance  the 
author's  reputation. 


424  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

This  play  has  never  been  produced,  and  probably, 
although  it  is  said  to  be  far  superior  to  Oraloosa,  never 
will,  having  been  condemned  by  the  author  himself. 

In  1833,  Dr.  Bird  became  a  candidate  for  public 
favor,  in  another  department  of  literature,  and  he  met 
with  the  same  decided  success  as  a  novelist,  that  had 
attended  his  labors  as  a  dramatist.  His  first  novel  was 
entitled  "  Calavar,  a  Koniance  of  Mexico."  This  was 
followed  by  "  The  Infidel/'  "  Nick  of  the  Woods,"  and 
"  The  Hawks  of  Hawk  Hollow,"  the  scene  of  which 
was  laid  in  Pennsylvania.  These  productions  at  once 
placed  him  in  the  front  rank  of  American  novelists,  in 
the  estimation  of  the  intelligent,  both  at  home  and 
abroad.  All  his  novels  have  been  republished  in  Lon 
don,  and  have  been  reviewed  in  terms  of  high  com 
mendation.  His  language  is  eloquent,  imaginative,  and 
powerful.  His  characters  are  well  contrasted,  boldly  con 
ceived,  and  happily  and  consistently  sustained  through 
out  ;  while  his  plots  are  constructed  with  dramatic 
skill,  and  his  subjects  and  scenes  present  a  freshness 
and  originality  in  striking  contrast  with  the  racifimen- 
toes  of  some  of  the  novelists  of  the  day. 

He  was  the  author  of  several  pieces  of  poetry,  all 
of  which  were  remarkable  for  great  delicacy,  simplicity 
and  sweetness.  He  was  a  good  classical  scholar,  pos 
sessed  a  knowledge  of  several  languages,  and  his  read 
ing  was  extensive  and  various,  and  more  familiar  with 
the  history  of  South  America,  and  Spanish  North 
America,  than  any  other  man  in  the  country. 

It  has  been  said  by  some  critics,  envious  of  Dr. 
Bird's  fair  fame,  that  his  style,  though  energetic,  is 
coarse.  There  are  passages  in  "  Calavar,"  and  "  Nick 
of  the  Woods,"  which,  in  point  of  eloquence,  pathos, 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  425 

and  all  the  elementary  rules  of  composition,  will  com 
pete  with  any  work  of  a  similar  kind  in  the  English 
language.  In  fact,  we  would  quote  "  Nick  of  the 
Woods  "  throughout,  and  contrast  it  with  any  one  of 
Bulwer's  novels,  nor  have  any  fears  of  the  result. 
"Nick  of  the  Woods"  is  a  compliment  to  the  literature 
of  our  country. 

Dr.  Bird  was  much  esteemed  for  his  urbanity  and 
unostentatious  demeanor.  There  was  about  him  none 
of  that  poetical  nonsense  which  clings  to  so  many  who 
lay  claim  to  a  literary  character.  He  had  less  egotism 
than  any  man  we  ever  met  with ;  like  the  farmer,  he 
cultivated  the  soil  of  literature  for  its  fruit,  not  its 
blossoms ;  he  garnered  up  the  seed,  while  others  made 
bouquets  out  of  their  productions,  and  paraded  them  as 
they  would  a  diamond  breastpin,  or  a  new  coat ;  things 
seldom,  however,  available  with  them  for  such  a  pur 
pose.  In  stature,  Dr.  Bird  was  about  five  feet  ten 
inches  high ;  robust,  with  a  mild,  amiable  counte 
nance,  hair  slightly  tinged  with  silver  gray. 

Something  like  Dominie  Sampson,  Dr.  Bird  was  a 
complete  book- worm,  and,  at  times,  so  absorbed  in 
literary  pursuits,  that  he  paid  little  or  no  attention  to 
worldly  matters.  As  an  instance  of  this,  we  might 
cite  facts  to  show  how  prone  he  was  to  the  wiles,  or 
rather  sly  jokes  of  some  of  his  intimate  friends,  who 
took  delight  in  what  they  called  "  drawing  him  out." 
The  doctor  was,  in  fact,  so  single-minded  in  all  that 
related  to  the  rascality  of  the  age,  that  it  would  seem 
that  he,  like  Rip  Van  Winkle,  had  been  asleep  for  the 
last  twenty  years,  and  just  woke  up  in  time  to  become 
acquainted  with  men  and  things  as  they  existed 
around  him.  Correct  himself,  and  truly  honorable,  he 


426  LIFE    OP    EDWIN    FORKEST. 

naturally  believed  all  the  world  to  be  so.  On  one  oc 
casion,  and  we  believe  the  only  time  the  doctor  ever 
witnessed  the  representation  of  his  play  of  the  Broker 
of  Bogota,  a  gentleman  who  was  seated  near  him, 
observed — "  The  author  of  this  piece,  whoever  he  is, 
must  be  a  d — d  scoundrel  himself,  or  he  never  could 
have  sketched  such  a  villain  as  that,"  alluding  to  a 
character  in  the  play.  The  doctor  started,  gazed  on 
the  speaker,  and  satisfied  that  the  man  spoke  without 
a  knowledge  who  he  was,  made  some  remark  in  reply, 
and  left  the  theatre  in  disgust.  This  incident  the 
doctor  himself  related. 

These  little  grievances  are  the  trials  of  poor  au 
thors,  and  neither  the  actors,  managers,  or  audiences, 
have  any  sympathy  for  them.  The  fact  is,  an  author 
can  be  likened  to  a  dyspeptic — his  disease  creates 
laughter  and  sarcasm,  instead  of  kindness  and  sym 
pathy. 

In  all  the  social  relations  of  life,  Dr.  Bird  main 
tained  a  steady  uniform  character,  and  it  is  a  re 
markable  fact,  that  although  his  productions  placed 
him  in  a  high  position  before  the  people,  and  his 
dramatic  ones  attracted  crowded  houses  every  time 
they  were  played,  he  was  less  known  to  the  mass  of 
the  people  than  any  other  literary  man  in  Phila 
delphia. 

At  one  time,  Dr.  Bird  became  part  owner  and 
editor  of  the  North  American,  a  highly  popular 
paper  of  Philadelphia ;  and  many  of  the  able  editorials, 
which  tended  to  give  it  tone  and  character,  were  the 
productions  of  his  classic  pen.  But  he  has  gone  to 
that  "  undiscovered  country  from  whose  bourn  no 
traveller  returns/' 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  427 

"  His  was  the  merit — seldom  shows 

Itself  bedeok'd  with  tinsel  and  fine  clothes  ; 
But,  hermit  like,  'tis  oftener  used  to  fly, 
And  hide  its  beauties  in  obscurity." 

THE   GLADIATOR. 

The  first  performance  of  this  play  was  at  the 
Arch  Street  Theatre,  Philadelphia,  on  Monday  even 
ing,  October  24th,  1831.  It  was  thus  announced : 

ARCH    STREET    THEATRE. 

MONDAY,  OCTOBER    24TH,   1831. 

First  night  of  the  new  prize  tragedy,  by  Dr.  Bird,  called 
THE  GLADIATOR. 

Mr.  E.  Forrest  will  appear  in  the  character  of  Spartacus. 

The  managers  have  the  pleasure  of  announcing  the  first  represen 
tation  in  this  city  of  the  new  prize  tragedy  of  The  Gladiator,  written 
by  Dr.  Bird,  which  was  received  in  New  York  with  unprecedented 
success.  Neither  pains  nor  expense  have  been  spared  to  produce  the 
tragedy  with  all  possible  splendor.  The  whole  of  the  dresses,  decora 
tions  and  mountings  are  new,  and  designed  by  Mr.  Andrew  J.  Allen, 
the  American  costumer. 

The  new  scenery  by  Mr.  Leslie.  The  arena  scene  being  histori 
cally  and  magnificently  set  and  arranged  from  the  best  authorities. 

This  Evening 

THE   GLADIATOR. 

The  Prologue  will  be  spoken  by  MR.  THAYER. 

The  Epilogue  by  Miss  E.  RIDDLE. 

MARCIUS  LUCINIUS  CRASSUS MR.  DUFFY. 

LENTULUS MR.   QUINN. 

Jovius MR.  JONES. 

BRACCHIUS MR.  HORTON. 

FLORUS,  SON  TO  LENTULUS MR.  J.  E.  MURDOCH. 

GLADIATORS. 

SPARTACUS MR.  E.  FORREST. 

PHASARIUS MR.  J.  R.   SCOTT. 

SENONA MRS.  STONE. 

JULIA Miss  E.  RIDDLE. 

Gladiators,  20 ;  Roman  Guards,  16 ;  Lictors,  6 ;  Patricians,  6 ; 
Ladies,  8  ;  Female  Slaves,  6  ;  Children,  2. 

ORALOOSA. 

The  play  of  Oraloosa  was  produced  at  the  Arch 


428  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

Street  Theatre,  on  the  10th  of  October,  1831.  On  the 
same  evening,  Charles  Kemble  made  his  first  appear 
ance  at  the  Chestnut  Street  Theatre,  as  Hamlet.  With 
attractions  so  equally  balanced,  the  town  was  fairly 
divided.  Everybody  was  anxious  to  see  Mr.  Kemble. 
whose  name  alone  was  sufficient  to  attract  a  crowded 
house,  associated  as  it  was  with  one  of  the  brightest 
eras  in  the  history  of  the  English  stage.  On  the 
other  hand,  Dr.  Bird's  great  success  in  the  Gladiator 
excited  a  no  less  degree  of  curiosity  to  witness  his 
second  attempt  as  a  dramatic  poet.  Both  theatres 
drew  crowded  houses  for  a  succession  of  nights,  du 
ring  the  respective  engagements  of  Mr.  Kemble  and 
Mr.  Forrest.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  original 
bill  of  the  first  performance : 

ARCH    STREET   THEATRE. 

MONDAY  EVENING,   OCTOBER   10TH,   1831, 

Will  be  presented  the  new  Tragedy,  written  by  Dr.  Bird,  called 
ORALOOSA. 

Founded  on  the  cruelty  of  the  Spaniards  in  Peru. 

With  entire  new  South  American  scenery  of  the  most  gorgeous 
character ;  splendid  new  costumes  of  Spanish  and  Indian  style,  from 
the  most  correct  drawings  by  travelled  artists  and  publications  on  the 
subject. 

A  Tragedy,  in  five  acts,  entitled 

ORALOOSA ; 
OB,  THE  LAST  OF  THE  INCAS. 

FRANCISCO   PIZARRO DANIEL  REED. 

FRANCISCO  DE  ALCANTARA JAMES  E.  MURDOCH. 

CARVOHAL CHARLES  S.  PORTER. 

DIEGO   DE  ALMAGRO JOHN   R.  SCOTT. 

DON  CHRISTOVAL F.  C.  WEYMSS. 

SOTELA WILLIAM    JONES. 

JUAN MR.  SPRAGUE. 

VACA  DE  CASTRO MR.  QUINN. 

MARCO  CAP  AC MR.  HOUTON. 

ORALOOSA EDWIN   FORREST. 

OC^ELLIA Miss  ELIZA  RIDDLE. 

FEMALE  ATTENDANT MRS.  BUCKLEY. 

A  FRIAR  . .  JOHN  RICE. 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FORREST.  499 

The  prologue  was  written  by  Kichard  Penn  Smith, 
and  spoken  by  Mr.  Duffy ;  the  epilogue,  written  by 
a  friend  of  the  author's,  was  spoken  by  Miss  Kiddle. 
The  piece,  however,  did  not  increase  the  reputation 
of  the  author  of  the  Gladiator ;  something  better  was 
anticipated,  and  the  play  of  Oraloosa  fell  beneath  the 
previous  productions  of  Dr.  Bird's  muse.  Neither 
plot,  incident,  or  dialogue,  would  bear  comparison  with 
the  Gladiator.  The  audience  was  evidently  disap 
pointed,  and  Mr.  Forrest  subsequently  struck  it  from 
his  roll  of  acting  plays,  remarking  :  "  It  was  unworthy 
of  the  author,  and  would  never  produce  anything  but 
mortification  to  the  actor." 

We  think  Mr.  Forrest  was  too  hasty  in  arriving 
at  this  conclusion,  as  Oraloosa  certainly  deserved  no 
such  censure.  Its  incidents  are  strikingly  dramatic, 
and  the  young  hero  a  character  that  is  calculated 
to  win  the  approbation  of  an  audience.  Had  Mr. 
Forrest  taken  as  much  interest  in  Oraloosa  as  he  did 
in  the  Gladiator,  it  would  not  have  met  this  fate. 
On  its  first  reception  in  New  York,  on  the  7th  of 
December,  1832,  it  was  a  most  decided  success.  In 
the  hands  of  that  talented  young  actor,  Edwin 
Adams,  Oraloosa  would  find  an  able  representative. 

THE    BROKER    OF    BOGOTA. 

This  followed  soon  after  Oraloosa,  which  we  consider 
the  most  finished  of  Dr.  Bird's  dramas.  Viewed  as 
a  specimen  of  dramatic  art,  it  surpasses  all  of  his 
other  pieces.  All  these  plays  were  written  expressly 
for  Mr.  Forrest.  This  great  tragedy  ranks  in  point 
of  poetical  and  dramatic  interest  with  the  Lear  of 
Shakespeare.  Mr.  Forrest  produced  the  Broker  of 


430  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

Bogota  during  one  of  his  splendid  engagements  in 
New  York,  at  the  "Bowery."  In  consequence  of  the 
Park  Theatre  being  engaged  for  the  Kembles',  Woods', 
and  Power,  he  accepted  the  "  Bowery,"  where  he  had 
not  played  for  four  years.  He  opened  there  on  the 
27th  of  November,  1833.  This  engagement  closed  on 
the  23rd  of  December.  On  the  5th  of  January,  1834, 
he  commenced  a  new  engagement,  during  which  he 
played  Jaffier,  to  Cooper's  Pierre,  and  Mrs.  McClure's 
Belvidere;  also  Pythias,  to  Cooper's  Damon.  Dr. 
Bird's  fine  tragedy,  the  Broker  of  Bogota,  was  brought 
out  with  great  success  on  the  12th  of  January,  1834, 
with  the  following  cast : 

BAPTISTA  FEBRO MB.  E.  FORREST. 

ANTONIO  DE  CABRERO MR.  H.  WALLACK. 

MARQUIS  DE  PALMERA MR.  H.  GALE. 

FERNANDO MR.  Gr.  JONES. 

RAMON MR.  INGERSOLL. 

FRANCISCO MR.  CONNOR. 

MENDOZA MR.   FARREN. 

PABLO MR.  MCCLURE. 

JULIANA MRS.   MCCLURE. 

LEONER MRS.   FLYNN. 

With  such  a  cast  as  this,  a  far  inferior  play  would 
have  succeeded,  but  the  Broker  of  Bogota  required 
just  such  a  company  to  render  it  as  perfect  as  true 
art  is  susceptible  of  imparting  to  the  works  of  genius. 
Mr.  Forrest  frequently  told  us  that  he  was  compelled 
to  forego  the  pleasure  of  producing  this  play,  in  con 
sequence  of  the  paucity  of  talent  in  theatres  in  which 
he  was  called  to  play  during  his  engagements.  There 
is  not  a  name  in  the  above  cast  but  is  familiar  to 
our  readers.  Six  of  the  males  even  at  that  period, 
and  long  subsequent,  were  well-known  stars,  and  the 
two  ladies  were  alike  celebrated  for  their  talent,  and 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORKEST.  431 

one  especially  for  her  beauty.     To  her  how  applicable 
are  these  lines : 

"  'Twas  such  a  face 

As  Guido  would  have  lov'd  to  dwell  upon  ; 
But,  oh  ;  the  touches  of  his  pencil,  never 
Could  paint  her  perfect  beauty.     In  his  home 
(Which  once  she  did  desert)  I  saw  her  last ; 

*  Her  brow  was  fair,  but  very  pale,  and  look'd 
Like  stainless  marble ;  a  touch  methought  would  soil 
Its  whiteness  *  *." 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

ROBERT  T.  CONRAD. SKETCH    OF    HIS   LIFE. HE    STUD 
IES   LAW. A  POLITICIAN,  POET,  AND    DRAMATIST. 

BECOMES     AN     EDITOR. WAS     RECORDER     OF     THE 

NORTHERN    LIBERTIES. IS    APPOINTED    JUDGE     OF 

THE     COURT     OF     QUARTER     SESSIONS. IS    ELECTED 

MAYOR    OF    THE    CITY    OF    PHILADELPHIA. RESUMES 

THE    PRACTICE     OF     THE      LAW. JACK     CADE. ITS 

GREAT    SUCCESS. A    COMPLIMENT     TO     OUR    LITERA 
TURE. EXTRACTS     FROM    THE    PLAY. G.    H.    MILES, 

AUTHOR    OF    MOHAMMED. 

TN  another  part  of  these  Eeminiscences  we  have  al- 
-  luded  to  this  gentleman  and  the  play  which  immor 
talized  his  name.  It  may  not  be  considered  a  repetition 
if  we  add  something  more  to  the  memory  of  one  who 
was  so  highly  esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him,  more 
particularly  as  he  added  one  more  play  to  the  dramatic 
library  of  our  country,  that  has  been,  and  ever  will  be, 
a  credit  to  our  literature.  The  following  article  was 
written  by  us  a  few  days  after  his  death ;  and  we  deem 
it  necessary  to  republish  it,  as  it  connects  the  gifted 


432  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKREST. 

author  of  Jack  Cade  with  the  subject  of  these  Remin 
iscences.  We  have,  in  speaking  of  this  play,  stated 
that  its  original  title  was  Aylmere. 

"HON.    ROBERT    T.  CONRAD." 

" '  One  night 

Rack'd  by  these  memories,  methought  a  voice 
Summon'd  me  from  my  couch.' — Jack  Cade. 

"  The  sudden  death  of  the  Hon.  Robert  T.  Conrad, 
which  occurred  on  Sunday  evening,  the  27th  of  June, 
1858,  created  a  melancholy  sensation  throughout  the 
community,  among  whom,  for  a  long  period  of  years, 
he  held  high  and  prominent  positions.  Indeed,  we 
were  scarcely  prepared  for  such  an  announcement,  for 
within  a  few  days  we  saw  him  in  the  evident  pos 
session  of  good  health ;  and  we  imagined  the  time  was 
not  far  distant  when  the  world  of  letters  would  again 
be  charmed  with  some  emanation  from  his  gifted  pen, 
conceived  by  a  mind  brilliant  in  thought,  and  glowing 
with  genius  ;  but  alas ! 

"  '  His  spirit,  with  a  bound, 
Burst  its  enchaining  clay ; 
His  tent,  at  sunrise,  on  the  ground 
A  darken'd  ruin  lay.' 

"Robert  T.  Conrad  was  born  in  the  city  of  Phila 
delphia,  June  10th,  1810.  His  father,  John  Conrad, 
was  known  by  the  writer  of  this,  in  his  active  business 
day,  as  a  book  publisher,  and  in  after  years  as  one  of  the 
Aldermen  of  the  Northern  Liberties.  At  a  proper  age, 
young  Conrad  was  placed  in  the  law  office  of  Thomas 
Kittera,  Esq.,  one  of  the  most  accomplished  lawyers  of 
his  day.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  refined  manners, 
pleasing  address,  and  possessed  a  voice  that  set  words 
to  music.  With  such  a  man  young  Conrad  studied 


LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FORREST.  433 

law,  and  received  those  lessons  which  stamped  the 
gentleman  in  after  years;  and  although  the  mildew 
of  the  dark  shade  of  life  may  blight  the  impress  of 
the  man,  still  the  mind  and  its  cultivation  remain, 
even  amid  the  ruin  and  wreck  it  caused. 

"  Young,  ardent,  full  of  poetry,  imaginative  and 
fiery,  young  Conrad  looked  upon  the  drudgery  of  a  law 
office,  as  a  sort  of  mechanical  exercise,  in  which  the 
mind  had  little  to  do.  With  this  idea,  he  not  unfre- 
quently  perpetrated  a  verse  of  poetry,  instead  of  copy 
ing  a  page  from  Blackstone.  His  first  attempt  at  any 
thing  more  elaborate  than  a  poem,  was  his  Conrad  of 
Naples,  which  was  produced  at  the  Arch  Street  Thea 
tre.  It  was  played  on  the  evening  of  the  17th  of  Jan 
uary,  1832,  with  Mr.  James  E.  Murdoch  as  the  hero. 
John  R.  Scott  also  enacted  the  part  afterwards.  Con 
rad  of  Naples  was  a  youthful  effort,  but  gave  promise 
of  something  in  the  dramatic  way  that  would  reflect 
credit  on  its  author  and  the  city  of  his  birth.  That  he 
achieved,  and  his  great  play  of  Jack  Cade  places  him 
first  among  our  native  dramatists. 

"  He  was  also  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  various 
periodicals  of  the  day,  and  started  a  daily  paper  called 
the  Commercial  Intelligencer,  which  was  remarkable 
for  the  spirit  and  pungency  of  its  political  articles. 
The  Intelligencer  was  afterwards  united  with  the  Phila 
delphia  Gazette,  and  Mr.  Conrad  continued  for  some 
time  as  co-editor  of  the  joint  concern,  with  Condy 
Kaguet,  Esq.  A  few  years  afterwards,  he  produced  a 
second  tragedy  at  the  Walnut  Street  Theatre,  entitled, 
Aylrnere.  This  piece  was  altered  and  adapted  to  the 
peculiar  powers  of  Mr.  Forrest,  and  under  the  name 
of  Jack  Cade,  was  produced,  with  the  most  astounding 


434  LIFE    OP    EDWIN    FORREST. 

success,  at  the  Arch  Street  Theatre,  June  16th,  1841. 
Robert  T.  Conrad's  fame  (if  not  his  popularity)  was 
predicated  on  this  play — it  brought  him  immediately 
before  the  public  in  a  new  and  brilliant  light — it  placed 
him  on  the  list  of  those  who  had  made  a  world  within  a 
world,  at  the  head  of  which  stood  its  creator — WILLIAM 
SHAKESPEARE.  It  gave  him  position,  character  and 
popularity;  and  had  he  properly  used  all  these,  the 
name  of  Conrad  would  have  been,  in  its  connection 
with  our  literature,  the  Addison  of  our  country.  But 
we  will  not  speak  of  causes,  the  effects  of  which  lessen 
the  labor  of  the  historian." 

When  Jack  Cade  was  produced,  its  style  was  crit 
icised,  and  its  language  commented  upon.  All  this 
was,  no  doubt,  evoked  by  that  spirit  of  rivalry  which 
existed  here,  at  that  time,  between  the  friends  of 
American  and  British  literature. 

In  1845,  the  author  of  this  article  published  a  small 
volume,  entitled  u  The  Dramatic  Authors  of  America." 
Speaking  of  Robert  T.  Conrad,  in  connection  with 
Jack  Cade,  we  observed  : 

"  He  has  written  much  occasional  poetry,  and  several 
of  his  pieces  bear  internal  evidence  of  the  possession  of  no 
ordinary  poetical  talent.  The  lines  on  a  Blind  Boy  solicit 
ing  charity  by  playing  on  a  flute,  are  worthy  of  the  pen  of 
Wordsworth.  Mr.  Conrad  is  better  known  as  a  political 
writer  than  for  his  labors  in  the  flowery  paths  of  literature. 
He  writes  with  a  pen  of  steel,  dipped  in  aquafortis — a 
dangerous  talent,  and  one  which,  when  freely  exercised, 
seldom  garners  any  other  than  a  harvest  of  tares.  We 
look  upon  this  gentleman  as  possessing  talent  of  no  ordi 
nary  calibre.  He  thinks  deeply,  sees  clearly,  and  is  not 
disposed  to  imbibe  received  opinions,  because  endorsed  by 
weighty  names,  without  first  casting  them  into  the  alembic 
of  his  own  mind.  His  prose  is  distinguished  for  its  per 
spicuity,  fullness  of  its  sentence,  happy  illustration  and 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  435 

forcible  expression ;  and  if  he  were  to  turn  his  attention  to 
history,  political  or  otherwise,  we  have  no  doubt  that  he 
would  produce  such  a  work  as  would  at  once  secure  him 
an  enviable  place  among  the  literary  characters  of  the 
country.  We  understand  that  he  has  commenced  a  ro 
mance  founded  on  important  incidents  of  the  Revolution, 
and  look  forward  with  impatience  for  its  completion,  know 
ing  that  whether  it  prove  popular  or  otherwise,  it  will  be 
no  ordinary  production. 

"  Jack  Cade  is  undoubtedly  destined  to  rank  among 
the  very  highest  dramatic  productions  of  our  language. 
The  plot,  though  elaborate,  is  simple  and  undeveloped ; 
the  incidents  are  striking  and  effective;  the  characters  are 
drawn  with  the  utmost  vigor,  and  contrasted  with  admira 
ble  skill;  the  sentiments  are  noble  and  manly,  and  the 
diction  is  marked  with  the  truest  perceptions  of  poetical 
excellence.  There  are  passages  in  this  piece  which  would 
not  suffer  by  comparison  with  the  choicest  extracts  from 
the  ablest  of  the  older  dramatists. 

"  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  state  of  our  dramatic 
literature  is  so  low  as  to  keep  such  productions  from  tho 
stage  as  the  mind  of  Conrad  could  furnish.  The  true 
spirit  of  dramatic  poetry  breathes  through  this  beautiful 
play,  and  it  is  with  regret  we  say,  being  in  heart  and  soul 
an  American,  that  the  careless,  cold,  apathetic  feeling  mani 
fested  for  genuine  poetry  among  us,  is  one  of  the  chief 
causes  of  the  decadency  of  the  drama,  and  the  absence  of 
men  of  learning  and  of  genius  from  the  dramatic  walks. 
We  have  in  another  portion  of  this  work  stated  that  to 
Mr.  Edwin  Forrest  was  this  piece  indebted  for  its  existence 
upon  the  stage.  And  we  venture  to  say,  that  the  vilest 
trash  of  the  English  school  will  be  more  applauded  by  the 
audience  when  enacted  by  a  regular  stock  company,  than 
would  Judge  Conrad's  Aylmere  in  the  absence  of  Mr.  For 
rest  !  All  writers  have  an  individual  as  well  as  a  national 
pride.  Hence,  to  write  a  play  for  an  actor,  depending  on 
the  uncertainty  of  life,  and  his  popularity,  for  your  fame,  is 
certainly  not  a  very  enviable  situation,  or  a  pleasing  posi 
tion  for  a  sensitive  man.  Such  is  our  dramatic  character — 
such  the  state  of  its  literature !  " 

Alas  !  it  is  so  still !  Our  readers  are  all,  or  nearly 
all,  familiar  with  the  history  of  Robert  T.  Conrad.  He 


436  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORKEST. 

was  one  of  us  in  the  great  party  question  whether 
native  or  foreign  influence  was  to  control  us  as  a  nation 
and  a  people.  How  far  and  to  what  extent  this  ques 
tion  was  carried,  and  its  results,  our  readers  are  equally 
familiar  with. 

After  his  retirement  from  the  Commercial  Intel 
ligencer,  he  resumed  the  profession  of  the  law.  He  at 
one  time  was  Recorder  of  the  Northern  Liberties,  and 
shortly  afterwards  was  made  one  of  the  Judges  of 
the  old  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions,  in  connection  with 
Judges  Barton  and  Doran. 

At  one  period  after  his  exodus  from  the  bench,  he 
became  a  constant  contributor  to  the  columns  of  the 
North  American,  and  other  papers.  The  beauty  of  his 
style,  the  elegance  of  his  diction,  and  the  spirit  of  true 
poetry  which  meandered  through  his  writings,  gave 
character  and  dignity  to  the  papers  that  published  them. 

In  June  1854,  he  became  the  candidate  of  the 
American  party  for  Mayor,  and  was  elected  by  a  large 
majority. 

In  1856,  Governor  Pollock  appointed  him  Judge 
of  the  Quarter  Sessions.  When  his  term  was  out,  he 
resumed  the  practice  of  the  law,  and  the  equally  pleas 
ing  task,  at  least  to  him,  of  wooing  the  muses  as  evi 
denced  in  the  publication  of  some  very  pretty  poetic 
effusions.  But  death  stepped  in,  put  out  the  light, 
and  all  was  dark !  Name  and  fame  do  not  go  out  how 
ever,  with  the  light  of  life.  They  are  "  extinguished, 
not  decayed." 

Judge  Conrad  has  passed  from  amongst  us ;  and 
his  name,  which  was  associated  with  the  drama  and 
poetry,  and  all  that  is  pleasing  in  art  and  nature,  is 
now  to  be  spoken  of  in  connection  with 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  437 

"  The  knell,  the  shroud,  the  mattock  and  the  grave ; 
The  deep,  damp  vault,  the  darkness,  and  the  worm." 

Yet,  beyond  all  this,  there  is  a  brighter  home  to 
which  his  spirit  long  ere  this,  has  winged  its  flight ; 
and  we  are  left  to  recall  many,  many  scenes  and  pleas 
ant  hours  that  were  passed  in  his  company  while  living. 

What  is  termed  Mr.  Forrest's  version  of  Aylmere, 
or  Jack  Cade,  was  first  performed  in  New  York,  at  the 
Park  Theatre,  on  the  24th  of  May,  1841,  with  the  fol 
lowing  cast : 

AYLMERE  (JACK  CADE) MR.  FORREST. 

CLIFFORD MR.  MURDOCH. 

LORD  SAY MR.  WHEATLEY. 

BUCKINGHAM MR.  A.  ANDREW. 

FRIAR  LACY MR.  NICKINSON. 

WAT  WORTHY MR.  CHIPPENDALE. 

MOWBRAY MR.  C.  W.  CLARKE. 

COURTNEY MR.  W  A.  CHAPMAN. 

JACK  STRAW MR.  BELLAMY. 

DICK  PEMBROKE MR.  FISHER. 

ARCHBISHOP MR.  BEDFORD. 

MARIAMNE MRS.  GEO.  JONES. 

WIDOW  CADE MRS.  WHEATLEY. 

KATE Miss  MCBRIDE. 

The  tragedy  of  Jack  Cade  contains  many  passages 
of  rare  beauty.  We  annex  the  following  as  being 
peculiarly  beautiful,  and  at  the  same  time  highly 
dramatic : 

EXTRACTS    FROM    JACK    CADE. 

AYLMERE   IN    THE   COLISEUM. 

"  One  night, 

Rack'd  by  these  memories,  methought  a  voice 
Summon'd  me  from  my  couch.     I  rose — went  forth. 
The  sky  seem'd  a  dark  gulf  where  fiery  spirits 
Sported ;  for  o'er  the  concave  the  quick  lightning 
Quiver'd,  but  spoke  not.     In  the  breathless  gloom, 
I  sought  the  Coliseum,  for  I  felt 
The  spirits  of  a  manlier  age  were  forth : 
And  there,  against  the  mossy  wall  I  lean'd. 
And  thought  upon  my  country.     Why  was  I 


438  LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FORREST. 

Idle  and  she  in  chains  ?     The  storm  now  answer' d  I 
It  broke  as  Heaven's  high  masonry  were  crumbling. 
The  heated  walls  nodded  and  frown'd  i'  the  glare, 
And  the  wide  vault,  in  one  unpausing  peal, 
Throbb'd  with  the  angry  pulse  of  Deity. 

Lacy. — Shrunk  you  not  'mid  these  terrors  ? 

Aylmere. — No,  not  I. 
I  felt  I  could  amid  this  hurly  laugh, 
And  laughing,  do  such  deeds  as  fireside  fools 
Turn  pale  to  think  on. 

The  heavens  did  speak  like  brothers  to  my  soul ; 
And  not  a  peal  that  leapt  along  the  vault, 
But  had  an  echo  in  my  heart.     Nor  spoke 
The  clouds  alone  :  for,  o'er  the  tempest  din, 
I  heard  the  genius  of  my  country  shriek 
Amid  the  ruins,  calling  on  her  son, 
On  me  !     I  answered  her  in  shouts ;  and  knelt 
Even  there,  in  darkness,  'mid  the  falling  ruins, 
Beneath  the  echoing  thunder-trump — and  swore — 
(The  while  my  father's  pale  form,  welted  with 
The  death-prints  of  the  scourge,  stood  by  and  smiled), 
I  swore  to  make  the  bondman  free  !       *       *       * 

SAY  AND   ALMERE. 

Say. — Sirrah,  I  am  a  peer ! 

Aylmere. — And  so 

Am  I.     Thy  peer,  and  any  man's  !     Ten  times 
Thy  peer,  an'  thou'rt  not  honest. 

Say.  — Insolent. 
My  fathers  were  made  noble  by  a  king. 

Aylmere. — And  mine  by  a  God !     Their  people  are 

God's  own 

Nobility ;  and  wear  their  stars  not  on 
Their  breasts — but  in  them  !     But  go  to ;  I  trifle. 

Say. — Dost  not  fear  justice  ? 

Aylmere. — The  justice  of  your  court  ? 
Nursed  in  blood  !     A  petty  falcon  which 
You  fly  at  weakness !     I  do  know  your  justice. 
Crouching  and  meek  to  proud  and  purpled  Wrong, 
But  tiger  tooth'd  and  ravenous  o'er  pale  Right ! " 

There  are  other  passages  in  this  play  of  a  very 
high  order  of  poetry,  which  would  not  suffer  in  com 
parison  with  the  choicest  extracts  from  the  ablest  of 
the  oldest  dramatists. 

As  rendered  by  Mr.  Forrest,  in  tones  that  have 
never  been  equalled  by  any  actor  on  the  stage,  their 
beauties  became  sublime.  We  read  of  Demosthenes, 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  439 

and  also  of  his  defects,  and  how  he  had  to  substitute 
pebbles  for  the  loss  of  teeth  !  If  Demosthenes  was 
a  great  orator  with  pebbles  for  teeth,  what  was  Mr. 
Forrest  with  fine  teeth  ?  The  public  speaker,  whether 
he  be  simply  an  orator,  a  preacher,  or  an  actor,  must 
be  natural  and  easy  in  his  delivery,  otherwise  the 
effect  he  intended  to  make  is  lost.  Shakespeare,  who 
never  lost  sight  of  an  occasion  to  give  advice  and 
instruct,  thus  speaks  of  one  who  lacked  the  power 
to  appear  natural,  though  ashamed : 

"  Pleads  he  in  earnest  ?     Look  upon  his  face  : 
His  eyes  drop  no  tears  ;  his  prayers  are  jest ; 
His  words  come  from  his  mouth,  ours  from  our  breast : 
He  prays  but  faintly,  and  would  be  denied  : 
We  pray  with  '  heart  and  soul,' 

'  Heart  and  soul ! ' " 

Yes,  this  is  the  great  actor's  cue. 

G.     H.    MILES MOHAMMED. 

Mr.  Forrest  made  several  efforts  to  procure  an 
other  play  suitable  to  his  peculiar  style ;  but  as  our 
dramatic  writers  did  not  feel  disposed  to  run  the  risk 
of  failure,  the  attempt  was  not  made  to  meet  the 
views  of  the  actor,  until  he  publicly  offered  a  prize 
of  three  thousand  dollars  for  a  play  written  by  an 
American,  which  would  be  well  adapted  to  represen 
tation  ;  and  promising  one  thousand  dollars  for  that 
play  among  the  number  (provided  none  realized  his 
first  intention)  which  should  possess  the  highest  lit 
erary  merit.  In  answer  to  this  invitation,  Mr.  Forrest 
received  upwards  of  seventy  plays.  Each  one  of  these 
he  carefully  read.  None  of  them  answered  his  origi 
nal  design.  He,  however,  awarded  to  Mr.  Gr.  H. 
Miles,  one  thousand  dollars  for  his  play  of  Moharn- 


440  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

med,  deeming  it  to  be  the  best  literary  production 
in  the  collection. 

The  reader  will  not  be  surprised  at  the  above  state 
ment  if  he  is  at  all  conversant  with  the  nature  of  the 
subject.  The  production  of  a  successful  play,  not  only 
requires  ample  leisure  and  freedom  from  all  care  in 
reference  to  subsistence,  during  the  progress  of  com 
position  ;  but  also  a  more  rare  and  difficult  com 
bination  of  intellectual  qualities  than  belong  to  most 
other  species  of  composition.  First  there  must  be 
genius — the  poet's  heaven-born  fire ;  the  grace  and 
beauty  of  dramatic  versification ;  a  familiarity  with 
classical,  historical,  and  mythological  learning  ;  the  well 
trained  powers  of  the  practiced  thinker  and  writer; 
and  a  deep  insight  into  the  hidden  springs  of  human 
action,  feeling,  and  passion ;  while  other  attainments, 
less  lofty  or  imposing,  are  equally  indispensable — a 
knowledge  of  stage  effect ;  a  constructive  ability  where 
by  to  avoid  impossible  or  absurd  situations,  which 
would  violate  the  known  relations  of  time  and  space ; 
the  resources  of  inventive  genius  which  furnished  con 
stant  novelties  and  striking  surprises  on  the  stage,  and 
an  ability  to  intersperse  the  grave  and  gay,  the  solemn, 
the  ludicrous,  the  pathetic,  and  the  sublime,  in  judi 
cious  variety.  To  possess  all  these  qualifications,  falls 
only  to  the  lot  of  the  highest,  and  therefore  the  rarest, 
dramatic  genius. 

If  these  and  many  other  qualities  are  essential  to 
the  successful  dramatist,  need  we  wonder  that  so  few 
succeed  ?  Need  we  be  surprised  that  Mr.  Forrest 
sought,  in  vain,  among  the  seventy  original  plays 
before  him,  for  one  in  which  he  felt  he  could  do  him 
self  or  his  design  justice  ? 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  441 

The  selection  of  this  play  from  seventy  others,  and 
not  calculated  for  stage  representation  at  that,  is  a  sad 
commentary  on  the  dramatic  literature  of  our  country. 
Still,  Mr.  Forrest  deserved  much  credit  for  awarding 
this  sum  for  the  best  literary  play  out  of  the 
seventy  offered.  The  following  specimen  of  the  au 
thor's  style  will  afford  our  readers  some  idea  of  his 
poetic  abilities.  Its  dramatic  construction  will  be 
better  understood,  when  we  say  it  totally  failed  when  it 
was  brought  out  by  Mr.  Neaffie  at  the  Lyceum — 
Brougham's  Theatre,  New  York.  Mr.  Forrest  loaned 
the  play  to  Mr.  Neaffie,  who  produced  it  on  the  27th 
September,  1852.  Mohammed,  Mr.  Neaffie ;  Omar, 
Mr.  Lynne ;  Cadyah,  Mrs.  Maeder.  It  was  performed 
but  three  times. 

EXTRACT    FROM    MOHAMMED. 

Abubeker  (to  Saad  and  Osaid]. — "  Obey  the  prophet. 
Moll. — Teach  them  how  to  do  it. 

Exeunt  Abubeker,  Saad,  Osaid. 

Remorse  or  poison,  which  ? — by  Heaven,  I  know  not 
All,  I  half  repent, — it  is  remorse ! 
Can  poison  rend  bowels  of  the  past, 
And  drag  out  blood,  and  blasphemy,  and  lust, 
And  mix  them  with  the  brain  ?    Can  poison  shape 
Imposture  with  its  long  and  demon  train, — 
The  slaughtered  Bedouin  and  the  ravished  virgin — 
A  future  pledged  to  sacrifice  and  fraud — 
Insulted  Heaven  and  deluded  earth  ? 
Poison  ? — O  God  !  'twere  honey  to  remorse ! — 
Avenging  Allah !  double  all  my  pains  ; 
Heap  pang  on  pang,  till  crushed  affliction  groans  ! 
Make  every  nerve  an  adder — but  shut  out 
The  spectral,  impious  landscape  of  the  past  1 " 


CHAPTER   XLII. 

MR.    FORREST    AS     A    READER. HAMLET. HIS     CONCEP 
TION     OF    THE     CHARACTER. WONDERFUL    POWERS 

OF    DELINEATION. HIS    LAST    APPEARANCE    BEFORE 

THE    PUBLIC  AS    AN    ACTOR    AND    A   READER. 

A  MONG  the  ancients  it  was  a  fundamental  prin- 
-£-*-  ciple,  and  frequently  inculcated — "  Quod  omni 
bus  disciplinis  et  artibus  debet  esse  instructus  orator ;  " 
that  the  orator  ought  to  be  an  accomplished  scholar, 
and  conversant  in  every  part  of  learning.  October 
15th,  1872,  Mr.  Forrest  gave  his  first  reading  at  the 
Academy  of  Music,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  Con 
trary  to  general  expectation,  the  house  was  only  mod 
erately  filled  ;  but  those  that  were  present  composed 
the  intellect  of  the  city,  and  applauded  the  reader,  as 
they  were  wont  to  applaud  the  actor.  The  editor  of 
the  Sunday  Dispatch,  speaking  of  Mr.  Forrest's  ad 
vent  as  a  reader,  on  the  evenings  of  October  15th  and 
18th,  said : 

"  The  audiences  on  both  occasions  were  small ;  and  yet 
there  is  a  vast  number  of  persons  to  whom  religious 
scruples  forbid  attendance  at  the  theatre,  who  were  not 
strangers  to  Mr.  Forrest's  fame,  and  were  presumably  de 
sirous  to  see  him.  That  they  did  not  fill  the  Academy  is 
perhaps  as  much  due  to  bad  management  as  to  any  decline 
in  Mr.  Forrest's  popularity ;  and,  indeed,  the  field  seemed 
to  be  so  wide  and  fertile  that,  only  a  year  or  two  ago,  Mr. 
T.  B.  Pugh  had  offered  to  pay  Mr.  Forrest  twelve  hundred 

(442) 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEREST.  443 

dollars  a  night  for  a  series  of  readings  under  his  manage 
ment.  Similar  non-success  attended  Mr.  Forrest's  read 
ings  in  other  cities  and  towns.  He  appeared  in  Wilming 
ton,  Delaware,  unsuccessfully,  and  afterwards  in  Steinway 
Hall,  New  York,  where  he  read  Hamlet,  on  November 
19th,  to  about  four  hundred  people,  and  Othello,  on  the 
22nd,  to  an  audience  of  not  more  than  two  hundred  and 
fifty.  His  final  appearance  was  on  November  30th,  in 
Boston." 

Hamlet  on  the  stage,  and  Hamlet  at  the  desk,  be 
come  distinct  characters,  unless  the  reader  can  embody 
within  himself  the  whole  dramatis  personce  of  this 
great  tragedy.  To  illustrate  the  peculiar  characteris 
tics  of  this  play,  the  reader  should  not  only  possess  the 
faculty  of  imitation,  so  as  to  give  individuality  to  the 
characters,  but  also  the  power  of  illustrating  by  action 
those  questionable  passages  in  the  play  which  have  ex 
ercised  the  mind  of  commentators  and  actors  ever  since 
its  first  introduction  on  the  stage  (1596).  These  requi 
sites  are  so  essential  to  the  correct  rendition  of  the  va 
rious  characters  in  the  tragedy,  that  no  one,  unless  he  is 
a  Shakesperian  reader,  should  undertake  it.  Few  act 
ors,  however,  possess  the  power  of  making  Hamlet  a 
stage  feature ;  failing  in  this,  how  would  it  be  with 
them  in  the  reading  of  it  ?  The  man  who  comes  be 
fore  an  audience  to  read  Hamlet,  should  thoroughly 
understand,  and  be  enabled  to  present  the  character,  as 
it  is,  and  not  as  he  imagines  it  should  be.  He  must  be 
able  to  distinguish  the  difference  between  the  assumed 
madness  of  Hamlet,  and  that  which,  to  a  certain  ex 
tent,  existed  before,  as  evinced  in  that  great  soliloquy, 
.wherein  he  meditates  suicide,  the  dawn  of  insanity, 
commencing : 

"  Oh !  that  this  too,  too  solid  flesh  would  melt." 


444  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

This  distinction  is  a  nice  one,  and  unless  the  reader 
has  fully  analyzed  the  character,  he  will  not,  nor  can 
he  .convey  to  an  audience  the  cause  of  his  actions,  or 
give  a  cue  to  his  motives.  To  account  for  Hamlet's 
harshness  to  Ophelia,  it  is  necessary  that  the  mental 
condition  of  the  prince  should  be  considered  as  a  cause 
for  his  unjust  as  well  as  unmanly  conduct.  The  mind 
of  Hamlet  is  weak — weak,  because  it  is  diseased ;  hence, 
not  being  healthy,  his  acts  are  but  the  effect  of  a  de 
fect,  or  as  he  says  of  himself — "  Sense  is  apoplexed." 
He  even  goes  further,  and  says :  that  he  has  not  only 
"the  outward  pageants  and  the  signs  of  grief,  but  I 
have  that  within  which  passeth  show."  If  the  reader 
overlooks  these  peculiarities  and  gives  us  words  and 
actions  merely,  under  the  impression  that  Hamlet 
simply  assumes  madness — he  will  fail.  Goethe  says 
of  Hamlet : 

"  A  beautiful,  high,  noble,  pure,  moral  being,  without 
the  mental  strength  which  makes  the  hero,  travels  under  a 
burden  which  crushes  him  to  the  earth,  one  which  he  can 
neither  bear  nor  cast  aside.  Every  duty  is  sacred  to  him, 
but  this  is  too  heavy.  The  impossible  was  demanded  of 
him — not  that  which  was  in  itself  impossible,  but  'that 
which  was  impossible  to  him.  How  he  writhes  and  turns, 
filled  with  anguish :  strides  backwards  and  forwards,  ever 
being  reminded,  ever  reminding  himself,  and  at  last  losing 
sight  of  his  purpose,  without  ever  having  been  made 
happy." 

Hamlet,  as  read  by  Mr.  Forrest,  was  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  striking  illustrations  of  the  charac 
ter  that  was  ever  given.  He  stood  before  the  audience 
the  embodiment  of  the  whole  play,  giving  to  each 
character  its  distinctive  feature,  tone  of  voice,  changing 
from  the  deep  philosophy  of  words,  as  uttered  by  Hani- 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  445 

let,  to  the  more  light  and  less  harmonic  of  that  of  the 
others,  giving  to  each  a  different  tone,  thus  calling  up 
the  creations  of  Shakespeare's  fancy  in  a  series  of  pic 
tures,  as  striking  as  they  were  artistic.  Thus,  by  the 
mere  effort  of  genius,  blended  with  art,  the  dramatis 
personce  of  this  noble  tragedy,  the  illusions  of  the  stage 
were  transferred  to  the  desk.  The  scene  where  Hamlet 
encounters  the  Ghost  was  not  only  read  by  Mr.  For 
rest,  but  acted ;  his  every  look,  action,  and  tone  of  voice 
invested  it  with  thrilling  interest.  Beautiful  as  the 
language  of  Hamlet  is,  it  was  doubly  enhanced  by  the 
voice  of  the  reader  and  his  impassioned  eloquence. 
Another  scene  we  particularly  refer  to,  is  the  interview 
Hamlet  has  with  his  mother,  in  what  is  called  the 
"  Closet  Scene."  This  is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary 
dramatic  scenes  that  is  to  be  found  in  any  play  that 
was  ever  written.  Let  us  more  particularly  speak  of  it, 
as  it  has  always  been  considered  the  test  of  an  actor's 
power.  What  can  be  more  striking,  and  at  the  same 
time  so  startling,  to  a  mother,  when  thus  addressed  by 
a  son! 

"  Look  here,  upon  this  picture  and  on  this ; 
The  counterpart  presentment  of  two  brothers. 
See  what  a  grace  was  seated  on  this  brow ! 
Hyperion's  curl's,  the  front  of  Jove  himself ; 
An  eye  like  Mars,  to  threaten  and  command ; 
A  station  like  the  herald  Mercury, 
New  lighted  on  a  heaven-kissing  hilL 

*     *     *     This  was  your  husband  !    Look  now  what  follows — 
Here  is  your  husband,  like  a  mildewed  ear, 
Blasting  his  wholesome  brother.     Have  you  eyes  ?  "  etc.,  etc. 

The  Queen,  overcome  with  his   terrible   denuncia 
tion,  exclaims : 

"  No  more ! " 

Hamlet  proceeds: 


446  LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FOREEST. 

"  A  murderer  and  a  villain ;  a  slave,  etc.     *     *     * 
A  cut-purse  of  the  empire  and  the  rule, 
That  from  the  shelf  the  precious  diadem  stole, 
And  put  it  in  his  pocket. 
A  king  of  shreds  and  patches." — [Enter  Ghost.~\ 

It  is  here  the  wonderful  power  of  the  actor  displays 
itself.  The  sudden  transition  from  the  stern  and  pa 
thetic,  the  angry  and  impassioned,  to  that  of  horror  at 
the  appearance  of  the  Ghost,  can  only  be  realized  when 
the  reading  of  the  words  are  accompanied  by  the  voice 
and  action  of  the  actor,  for  we  contend  that  no  one  but 
the  most  accomplished  of  the  profession  can  do  justice 
to  Shakespeare.  Hamlet  sees  the  Ghost,  his  mother 
does  not.  Struck  with  the  altered  looks  of  her  son, 
and  his  strange  actions,  she  exclaims  : 

"Alas!  he's  mad!" 

Then  when  she  says : 

"  Whereon  do  you  look  ?  " 

And  he  answers : 

"  On  him !  on  him  ! — Look  you,  how  pale  he  glares  ! "  eto. 

The  Queen  asks : 

"  To  whom  do  you  speak  this  ? 

Hamlet. — Do  you  see  nothing  there  ? 

Queen. — Nothing  at  all.     Yet  all  that  is  I  see. 

Hamlet. — Nor  did  you  nothing  hear  ? 

Queen. — No,  nothing  but  ourselves. 

Hamlet. — WTiy — look  you  there  !     Look,  how  it  steals  away  I 
My  father  in  his  habit  as  he  liv'd  ! 
Look,  where  he  goes,  even  now,  out  at  the  portal !  " 

As  Mr.  Forrest  read  this  portion,  with  eyes  fixed, 
finger  pointed,  the  audience  instinctively  followed  the 
motion  of  the  latter,  and  looked  towards  the  "  portal," 
to  see  if  the  power  of  the  actor  had  realized  this  won 
derful  picture  as  drawn  by  the  author  by  conjuring  up 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOEEEST.  447 

the  ghost.  For  a  moment  the  illusion  seemed  reality ; 
the  next  it  passed  away  with  the  flash  of  light  so  won 
derfully  thrown  upon  it  by  this  great  master  of  the 
dramatic  art.  Such  was  Mr.  Forrest's  reading  of  the 
play  of  Hamlet. 

Mr.  Forrest's  reading  in  New  York  was  extolled  by 
intelligent  critics,  but  not  appreciated  by  the  many. 
In  an  article,  written  by  Mr.  T.  H.  Morrell,  of  New 
York,  published  November  20th,  1872,  speaking  of 
Mr.  Forrest's  advent  as  a  reader,  he  said  : 

"Within  the  past  two  months  Mr.  Forrest  has  given 
readings  from  Shakespeare  in  Philadelphia,  Brooklyn,  Wil 
mington  (Del.),  and  other  cities,  and  last  evening  for  the 
first  time  in  New  York.  Everywhere,  with  one  exception 
only,  he  has  been  greeted  with  genuine  heartiness  of  feel 
ing  and  tokens  of  pleasure.  The  exception  referred  to 
was,  it  is  to  be  regretted,  that  of  our  neighbor,  Brooklyn. 
On  the  occasion  of  the  veteran's  appearance  at  the  Acade 
my  of  Music  there,  an  audience,  select  and  appreciative, 
assembled  to  honor  one  whose  memory,  associated  with 
the  drama,  had  been  enshrined  in  their  hearts  as  being 
connected  with  the  most  inspiring  and  exalted  emotions. 

u  But  it  was  a  Spartan  few  that  met  there;  not  such 
an  assemblage  as  the  city  of  Brooklyn  should  have  gath 
ered  together  to  render  homage  to  the  genius  of  that 
noble  artist,  who,  still  in  the  full  possession  of  his  intellec 
tual  power,  his  superb  voice — strong,  resonant,  musical, 
as  of  yore — with  his  emotional  nature  deepened  by  the 
teachings  and  sorrows  of  time — had  re-appeared  before 
them  to  give  an  interpretation  to  the  grandest  poetry  ever 
penned  by  mortal  man.  And  those  who  were  present, 
will  not  soon  forget  the  tones  of  that  voice,  when,  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  reading,  Mr.  Forrest,  '  with  thanks  for 
the  marked  attention  that  had  been  bestowed,  bade  our 
sister  city  respectfully  farewell.' 

"  Forrest's  reception  last  night  partook  very  much  of 
the  character  of  an  ovation.  That  welcome,  so  cordial 
and  so  unmistakable  in  its  sincerity,  has  proved,  to  the 
credit  of  our  city,  which,  on  the  night  of  the  23rd  of  June, 


448  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORKEST. 

1826,  hailed  with  delight  and  enthusiasm  this  our  actor, 
as  '  he  placed  his  foot  on  the  first  round  of  young  ambi 
tion's  ladder,'  that  in  his  declining  years,  with  all  those 
wondrous  powers  yet  unimpaired,  that  have  swayed  and 
charmed  the  myriads  who  have  gathered  near  his  throne, 
to  the  credit  of  New  York,  let  it  be  said,  that  by  her  citi 
zens,  Edwin  Forrest,  the  '  Garrick  of  America,'  is  not  to 
day — forgotten ! " 

Another  critic,  not  very  friendly,  it  was  supposed, 
to  the  actor,  wrote  the  following : 

"  It  is  our  deliberate  opinion  that  Mr.  Forrest  not  only 
cannot  play  Hamlet,  but  that  he  does  not  understand  what 
Hamlet  means.  His  utter  incompatibility  with  the  part 
was  shown  in  many  ways  as  this  reading  proceeded — not 
the  least  significant  token  being  what  we  may  describe  as 
a  ponderous  commonplace  of  personality,  relieved  now 
and  then  by  a  kind  of  suppressed  ferociousness.  It  is 
our  choice,  however,  not  to  linger  on  this  point.  The 
strife  as  to  Mr.  Forrest's  Hamlet  is  an  old  one,  and  it  is 
very  idle  now.  We  do  not  wish  to  disturb  any  person's 
belief,  and  would  express  our  own — since  the  necessity 
arises — in  the  kindest  manner.  It  was  a  great  pleasure  to 
hear  Mr.  Forrest's  magnificent  voice.  Its  soft  tones  are 
delicious,  and  its  strength  remains  unimpaired.  That  poe 
try  which  hovers  about  the  sound  of  words  he  could 
always  feel;  and  this  he  conveyed  last  night.  There  were 
no  recondite  or  unusual  'readings.'  Mr.  Forrest  says  'in 
the  dead  vast?  instead  of  '  in  the  dead  waste,"1  and  also 
makes  Hamlet  apostrophize,  'thou  dead  corse,'  instead  of 
the  more  common,  but  not  more  authentic,  'thou  dread 
corse.'  Other  peculiarities  there  were  none — unless  we 
denote  the  irrelevant  mood,  in  the  first  soliloquy,  indicated 
by  the  colloquial  accentuation  of  'my  father's  brother.' 
and  the  altogether  foreign  stroke  of  satire  on  the  word 
'philosophy,'  in  the  well-known  speech  to  Horatio  about 
the  things  in  Heaven  and  earth.  These,  though,  were 
peculiarities  of  meaning,  not  of  text,  and  the  discussion  of 
them  would  lead  us  from  the  direct  path,  which  is  to  say, 
simply,  that  Mr.  Forrest  gave  a  reading  of  '  Hamlet,'  in 
which  his  physical  advantage  of  voice  was  finely  mani 
fested,  and  in  which  he  furnished  several  exceedingly  fine 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  449 

bits  of  elocution — without,  as  we  think,  shedding  any  new 
light  either  upon  Shakespeare's  great  play,  or  upon  the 
generally  accepted  critical  understanding  of  his  idea  of  it. 
A  reading  by  this  gentleman  of  '  Alison's  History  of 
Europe,'  or  'Baxter's  Call,'  would  be  equally  impressive 
with  his  reading  of  Hamlet." 

The  last  appearance  of  Edwin  Forrest  before  the 
public,  as  a  reader,  and  never  again  to  appear  as  an 
actor,  was  in  Boston,  on  the  evening  of  Saturday, 
November  30th,  1872. 


CHAPTER   XLIII. 

THE    LIBRARY. —  DESCRIPTION    OF     THE    PICTURE    GAL 
LERY.  RELICS.  CURIOSITIES. SHAKESPEARE'S 

CORNER. SAD     EVENTS     ANTICIPATED. PERSONAL 

RECOLLECTIONS. THE    LOST    FOLIO. LOVE    OF   POE 
TRY. LINES    ON    THE    DEATH    OF    A    FRIEND. 

WE  have  alluded  to  Mr.  Forrest's  library  and  pic 
ture  gallery  in  a  former  chapter,  and  as  it  was 
the  scene  of  many  happy  hours  we  spent  with  him, 
and  his  picture  gallery  the  subject  for  mutual  com 
ments,  opinions  and  criticisms,  we  will  devote  a  little 
more  space  to  speak  of  both.  The  first  was  probably 
more  complete  in  every  department  of  literature  than 
any  other  private  library  in  the  country.  We  say  was, 
for  the  most  important  portion  of  it — the  dramatic,  no 
longer  exists. 

No  one  of  refinement  and  taste  with  the  means  to 
gratify  both,  could  possibly  neglect  the  works  of  art  in 
connection  with  that  of  literature.     The  intimate  and 
'28 


450  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKREST. 

indissoluble  connection  which  subsists  between  the 
Fine  Arts  in  general,  and  practically  between  Poetry 
and  Painting,  which  for  that  reason,  are  demonstrated 
Sister  Arts,  together  with  the  immediate  reference, 
which  this  latter  branch  of  the  Fine  Arts  has  to  the 
stage,  will,  it  is  presumed,  fully  justify  us  in  connect 
ing  Mr.  Forrest  with  every  thing,  which  so  essentially 
contributes  to  embrace  the  attractions  of  scenic  rep 
resentations. 

Some  two  years  ago,  accompanied  by  several  ladies, 
we  visited  the  distinguished  actor,  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  the  ladies  his  splendid  collection  of  books, 
paintings,  and  other  works  of  art.  As  the  following 
account  of  the  visit  embraces  nearly  all  the  objects  of 
interest,  both  in  the  library  and  the  gallery,  we  give 
it  as  it  originally  appeared  in  one  of  the  Philadelphia 
papers : 

A   WALK   THROUGH    THE   ART  GALLERY  AND   LIBRARY   IN 

THE   MANSION   OF   EDWIN   FORREST,  ESQ. 

BY    MISS    L.    L.    REES. 

"  There  is  no  study  more  interesting  than  that  which 
traces  the  progress  of  the  arts  and  sciences  from  the  ear 
liest  stage  of  rude  and  yet  efficient  workmanship,  down 
to  the  beautiful  and  too  often  delicate  handicraft  of  the 
present  day. 

"  Being  a  devoted  admirer  of  relics,  not  (I  may  as  well 
state  by  way  of  parenthesis)  easily  gulled  by  the  million 
specimens  that  came  over  in  the  Mayflower,  nor  Washing 
ton's  many  body-servants,  I  spent  a  very  pleasant  after 
noon,  with  several  agreeable  friends,  in  walking  through  the 
spacious  library  and  well-arranged  picture  gallery  of  Mr. 
Edwin  Forrest's  palatial  residence,  while  the  great  trage 
dian  performed  admirably  the  part  of  cicerone. 

"  We  stood  for  a  few  moments  before  a  case  in  which 
rested  a  Scottish  claymore,  and  fancy  carried  us  back  to 
the  blood-stained  field  of  Culloden;  there  was  also  the 
sword  which  Talma,  the  greatest  of  French  actors  wielded 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKREST.  451 

on  the  mimic  stage,  and  there  was  also  the  original  knife 
which,  on  the  world's  stage,  bears  the  name  of  its  inventor, 
Colonel  Bowie ;  a  clumsy  two-barrelled  pistol  lay  there,  a 
silent  memento  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  alongside  of  a 
cane  once  in  the  possession  of  Washington ;  while  another 
handsome  cane,  a  present  to  Mr.  Forrest,  and  the  hoof  of 
the  celebrated  trotter,  Edwin  Forrest,  will,  in  the  lapse  of 
years,  become  relics  for  the  future  antiquary. 

"  A  complete  suit  of  ancient  armor  brought  before  our 
mind's  eye  the  halls  of  a  baronial  castle,  while  pieces  of 
armor,  exact  copies  of  those  in  the  tower  of  London, 
hanging  on  the  walls,  added  to  the  illusion,  and  we  were 
no  longer  modern  damsels,  but  ladyes  of  the  age  of  chiv 
alry,  expectant  of  the  tournament. 

"  A  quaint  and  strangely-carved  Prie  Dieu,  from  an  old 
monastery,  might  have  told  us  of  many  a^n  agonizing 
prayer  rising  from  its  desk  to  a  prayer-answering  God, 
and  the  'Conversion  of  St.  Paul,'  represented  by  the 
carving  on  its  dark  panels,  grotesque  as  it  seems  to  us, 
might  have  whispered  'Hope'  to  the  suppliant. 

"  We  held  in  our  hands  a  black-lettered  Bible,  printed 
in  the  year  1578;  and  in  this  connection  I  might  as  well 
mention  Mr.  Forrest's  most  precious  book,  which  is  kept 
in  a  glass  case,  and  of  which  he  said,  '  If  this  house  was 
burning  he  would  want  this  book  saved,  if  all  else  per 
ished  ; '  the  first  folio  edition  of  Shakespeare's  works, 
dated  1623. 

"A  pearl-backed  missal,  an  inch  and  a  half  long  and  an 
inch  wide,  claimed  our  attention.  The  type  was  perfectly 
clear  and  distinct,  and  I  should  think  the  book  would 
prove  quite  a  convenience  to  church-goers. 

"A  carved  high-backed  settle  of  sturdy  oak,  which  has 
done  duty  since  1620,  interested  us,  and  we  wished  some 
magician's  wand  would  roll  back  the  curtains  of  the  past 
and  let  us  trace  the  history  of  that  piece  of  furniture. 
Just  imagine  the  love  scenes,  the  conspiracies,  the  part 
ings,  which  it  had  witnessed;  and  yet  it  stood  solemn, 
grim,  and  ancient,  sub  silentio. 

"We  saw  the  original  portrait  of  Nell  Gwynne,  the 
famous  beauty  of  her  time;  but  I  can  safely  say  that  Phil 
adelphia  belles  can  boast  of  equally  fine  faces.  Perhaps 
it  was  the  manner  which  fascinated,  which  was  the  one 
charm  of  the  dark  Cleopatra. 


452  LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

"  Also,  the  copy  of  a  gorgeous  altar-piece,  painted  by 
Raphael,  at  the  order  of  a  duke,  who  presented  it  to  the 
church  in  commemoration  of  the  preservation  of  his  life 
during  a  battle.  Of  course,  the  duke  himself  figured  in 
the  memorial  picture.  Copies  from  Murillo,  exhibiting 
his  varied  style — the  solemn  and  the  comic — were  seen  in 
that  collection  from  all  art  galleries  of  the  world. 

"The  last  picture  from  Gilbert  Stuart's  failing  fingers,  a 
portrait  of  Mr.  Forrest,  was  an  interesting  remembrance 
of  the  painter,  exhibiting  his  rare  talent  even  in  old  age, 
but  as  a  likeness  it  was  a  failure. 

"  Among  other  relics  of  the  past  are  two  statues, 
representing  Tragedy  and  Comedy,  which  once  sentinelled 
the  entrance  to  the  '  Old  Drury/  in  Chestnut  above  Sixth, 
now  no  more,  and  are  now  the  presiding  deities  of  a  neat 
little  theatre  fitted  up  by  Mr.  Forrest  in  his  mansion. 

"  A  devotee  to  the  memory  of  William  Shakespeare,  the 
tragedian  possesses  every  book  or  picture  which  contains 
any  item  of  interest  in  reference  to  the  Bard  of  Avon,  and 
in  his  library  we  saw  the  plays  of  the  immortal  dramatist, 
complete  in  sixteen  volumes,  published  in  1865,  printed  in 
clear  type,  on  massive  paper,  which  cost  five  hundred  dol 
lars.  Only  one  hundred  and  fifty  copies  were  struck  off, 
and  then  the  types  were  destroyed,  making  this  book  a 
rare  one  for  posterity. 

"  The  statue  of  Mr.  Forrest,  carved  from  fine  white 
marble,  weighing  over  three  tons,  and  in  height  six  feet 
and  a  half  from  the  pedestal,  represents  him  as  Coriolanus. 

"  The  graceful  folds  of  the  drapery,  the  perfect  delinea 
tion  of  the  muscles,  the  symmetry  of  the  figure,  and  the 
striking  resemblance  of  feature,  make  it  a  correct  specimen 
of  the  perfection  to  which  the  sculptor's  art  has  arrived. 

"  We  could  trace  the  progress  of  photography  also, 
while  we  gazed  at  Mr.  Forrest  as  King  Lear,  Macbeth, 
Othello,  Richelieu,  Hamlet,  Richard  the  Third,  and  Meta- 
mora — each  picture  the  counterpart  of  the  being  the 
genius  of  authors  had  evoked.  But  the  triumph  of  the 
art  which  makes  the  sun  its  workman  was  a  life-size 
photograph  of  Edwin  Forrest. 

"  So  perfect,  with  hat  in  hand,  as  if  making  a  morning 
call,  you  almost  expected  to  see  the  other  hand  move 
toward  yours  in  friendly  greeting. 

"Portraits   of  others    whose   names   were    household 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  453 

words  in  the  mimic  world  greeted  us  at  every  step,  until 
we  felt  as  if  we  were  ghosts  haunting  this  home  of  the 
living. 

"  But  now  we  approach  the  gem  of  the  collection.  A 
little,  laughing  rivulet,  flowing  through  the  forest  shades, 
with  a  gleam  of  sunlight  edging  its  way  through  the  green 
leaves,  dashing  against  the  tree's  brown  trunk,  throwing 
its  golden  sheen  on  the  rippling  water ;  but  in  its  glitter 
ing  way  it  falls  upon  the  light  brown  hair  of  a  little  girl, 
making  it  a  beauteous  auburn ;  it  kisses  the  bare  neck  and 
gilds  the  white  garment  which  she  holds  daintly  up,  while 
the  tender  little  feet  touch  delicately  the  cold,  shaded 
water.  Another  little  girl,  sitting  'neath  the  shadow  of 
the  tree,  has  just  commenced  at  shoe  and  stocking,  and 
when  disrobed,  she,  too,  can  venture  for  a  wade  in  the 
brook. 

"  The  pen  is  but  a  poor  substitute  for  the  artist's 
pencil,  so  when  I  say  that  the  present  owner  has  been 
offered  eight  thousand  dollars  in  gold  for  this  painting, 
the  production  of  Meyer,  a  German  artist,  I  am  giving 
my  readers  a  better  appreciation  of  its  value  than  my 
meagre  description  attempts  to  do. 

" '  Morning,  Noon  and  Evening,'  from  the  pencil  of  Mr. 
Bellowes,  gives  the  gradations  of  human  life  in  three 
beautiful  landscapes. 

"  First,  we  have  the  river ;  a  boat  moored  to  the  shore, 
the  village  church,  with  its  modest  spire,  in  the  distance, 
toward  which  are  moving  the  christening  party.  All 
nature  is  glowing  with  the  balmy  breath  of  Spring  on  this 
lovely  morning,  when  the  little  babe  will  receive  the  ben 
ediction  of  the  baptismal  rite. 

"  Next,  we  see  the  same  river,  and  from  thence  to  the 
shore  is  stepping  the  bride  in  her  pure  dress  and  orange 
flowers,  to  be  married  in  the  same  church  which  wit 
nessed  her  baptism.  The  glowing  sun  betokens  the  noon 
tide  hour,  the  ploughed  fields  on  the  hill-side,  the  busy 
Summer  time,  and  life's  youth,  full  of  happiness,  is  be 
fore  us. 

"  Now  we  stand  before  the  river  again,  but  it  ripples 
no  longer  in  the  sunlight;  the  unbroken  surface  of  ice  re 
flects  only  the  silver  crescent  in  the  winter's  sky.  No 
boat  is  moored  to  the  snow-clad  shore,  but  from  the  ice 
bound  river,  over  the  white  covered  earth,  comes  the 


454  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

funeral  procession,  wending  its  way  to  the  desolate-looking 
church,  that  the  solemn  service  for  the  dead  may  be  re 
cited  over  the  babe  of  the  Spring  morning,  the  bride  of 
Summer  noon,  and  the  corpse  of  the  Winter  evening; 
while,  bowed  with  age  and  grief,  walks  as  chief  mourner 
the  widowed  husband. 

"  Come  with  us  now  to  ancient  Rome.  The  immense 
amphitheatre  is  crowded  to  witness  a  gladiatorial  show. 
But  where  is  he  who  is  to  make  the  sports  for  lords  and 
ladies  ?  Asleep  in  his  dungeon,  his  naked  dagger  by  his 
side.  His  brawny  chest  displays  his  muscular  power — his 
ghastly  face  and  pallid  lips  betoken  the  dread  of  the  com 
ing  hour — and  yet  he  sleeps  !  In  the  next  cell  you  oan  see 
but  the  claws  of  the  ferocious  lion,  who  soon  is  to  be  the 
victor  or  victim. 

"  Across  the  limbs  of  the  sleeper  falls  the  streak  of 
light  from  the  opening  door  where  stands  the  Lanistoe  to 
bid  him  to  his  doom.  Oh,  close  the  door !  Shut  from  us 
all  sights  and  sounds  of  a  barbarous  past,  and  let  not  even 
a  streak  of  its  faint  light  mingle  with  the  golden  beams  of 
the  present,  nor  throw  its  sickly  glare  across  a  brighter 
future." 

Strange  that  so  soon  after  his  death  the  most  in 
teresting  and  highly-treasured  portion  of  his  library  so 
identified  with  his  own  stage  history,  and  set  apart  to 
be  incorporated  with  his  memory,  should  be  destroyed 
by  a  fire  that  took  place  in  his  library,  and  pass  away 
with  him.  Go  out  as  it  were  with  his  life,  leaving 
scarcely  a  dramatic  work  left,  or  at  least  of  any  ac 
count,  toward  which  the  old  veterans  of  the  stage 
could  gaze  upon  and  say :  "  These  were  the  pride  of 
our  noble  patron — these  the  silent,  though  faithful 
friends  who  were  with  him  in  his  lonely  home."  A 
few  scattered  leaves,  essays,  etc.,  on  the  drama  re 
mains,  it  is  true ;  but  where  are  the  works  of  the  great 
masters  ?  Alas  !  they  are  no  longer  a  part  of  the  vast 
library  of  Edwin  Forrest. 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FOKREST.  455 

After  the  fire  we  visited  the  scene  of  destruction ; 
there  among  the  debris,  with  its  crisped  and  charred 
leaves,  not  a  page  of  which  was  complete,  lay  the  folio 
of  Shakespeare's  plays — 1623  !  This  valuable  book  was 
kept  in  a  glass  case  with  the  greatest  care,  to  keep 
away  moth,  dust  arid  damp.  Mr.  Forrest's  charge  to 
his  servants  and  others  was,  that  in  case  of  fire  or  rob 
bery,  they  should  think  of  nothing  else,  until  they  had 
saved  the  folio  of  Shakespeare,  and  a  single  picture  in 
the  gallery,  by  Meyer,  to  which  we  have  already  alluded. 

There  were  also  among  the  debris,  the  burnt,  crisped 
volumes  of  Halliweirs  great  edition  of  the  plays  of 
Shakespeare  (sixteen  volumes  folio).  These  splendid 
volumes  were  illustrated  by  numerous  plates,  fac-sim- 
ileSj  and  wood-cuts  accurately  taken  from  the  original 
sources.  Only  one  hundred  and  fifty  copies  of  this 
work  were  printed.  One  volume  only  of  this  work 
escaped,  and  that  was  in  a  distant  part  of  the  library. 

The  following  editions  of  Shakespeare's  plays  were 
among  the  collection  destroyed :  Pope's,  1725 ;  War- 
burton's,  1747 ;  George  Stevens',  1766  ;  Robinson's, 
1797;  Miller's,  1807;  Malone's,  1790,  and  various 
editions  by  Samuel  Johnson;  George  Stevens,  Isaac 
Reed,  Boydell's  great  edition  of  1802;  Collier,  1853, 
etc.  The  catalogue  of  the  dramatic  works  destroyed 
by  this  fire  would  fill  a  volume.  As  we  had  free  access 
to  his  library  at  all  times,  this  department,  which  was 
designated 


possessed  great  attractions ;  the  recollections  of  the 
many  happy  hours  we  spent  there  can  never  be  for 
gotten. 


456  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKREST. 

During  Mr.  Forrest's  engagement  in  the  South  and 
West,  in  1871,  we  had  charge  of  his  house,  and  very 
reluctantly  received  the  keys  of  his  library  and  picture 
gallery.  Knowing  the  great  value  he  placed  upon 
both,  we  thought  the  responsibility  too  great,  although 
we  felt  complimented  for  the  confidence  he  placed  in  us. 
He  was  away  several  months.  That  folio  edition  of 
Shakespeare  and  the  one  picture,  both  of  which  he  so 
highly  valued,  were  ever  in  our  mind.  If  there  was  an 
alarm  of  fire  in  the  dead  hour  of  the  night,  we  would 
rush  to  the  window  and  glance  in  the  direction  of  Mr. 
Forrest's  house,  listen  to  the  roll  of  the  engines,  and 
felt  a  sense  of  relief  when  the  sound  died  away  in  the 
distance.  These  two  objects  were  our  "John  Jones," 
and  when  he  returned  and  found  his  library  all  bright 
and  cheerful,  we  both  felt  happy.  The  one,  to  find 
himself  once  more  at  home,  and  the  other,  that  he 
could  return  the  keys  and  say :  "All  is  safe.  The  folio 
in  its  place — the  picture  still  hanging  in  the  picture 
gallery."  How  applicable  to  man  are  these  beautiful 
lines — for  what  are  human  calculations  but  day  dreams, 
which  the  light  of  the  morrow  dispels  ?  What  are 
bright  thoughts  but  the  gleam  of  a  moment,  to  pass 
away  the  next  ? 

"  To-morrow,  and  to-morrow,  and  to-morrow, 
Creeps  in  this  petty  pace  from  day  to  day, 
To  the  last  syllable  of  recorded  time ; 
And  all  our  yesterdays  have  lighted  fools — 
The  way  to  dusty  death.     Out,  out,  brief  candle ! 
Life's  but  a  walking  shadow  ;  a  poor  player — 
That  struts  and  frets  his  hour  upon  the  stage, 
And  then  is  heard  no  more  ;  it  is  a  tale 
Told  by  an  idiot,  full  of  sound  and  fury, 
Signifying  nothing." 

Who  but  Shakespeare  could  have  written  such 
lines  ?  and  who  but  a  Forrest  read  them  ? 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  457 

He  is  no  longer  with  us — no  longer  to  be  seen,  that 
stalwart  figure — the  piercing  eye  and  lofty  brow.  No 
longer  to  be  seen,  the  proud  representative  of  the  heroes 
of  the  past  ages — no  longer  to  be  seated  in  his  vast 
library,  a  lonely  man,  looking  around  with  honest 
pride,  and  bowing  his  head  in  silent  admiration  to  the 
thousands  of  master  spirits  contained  in  the  bound 
volumes  before  him.  These  were  his  trusty  friends,  for 
they  neither  fawned  nor  flattered.  Where  are  those 
true  friends  now  ?  Go  ask  the  debris  that  lie  scattered 
around  his  spacious  library — go  ask  the  flames  as  they 
cracked  and  blazed  for  three  long  hours,  rioting  and 
revelling  in  huge  volumes  of  smoke  as  they  rolled 
through  the  halls  and  chambers  of  his  dwelling — go 
ask  these,  and  their  answer  will  be — ASHES  ! 

As  Mr.  Forrest's  library  was  the  scene  of  many 
pleasant  hours  in  our  life,  we  cannot  leave  it  hastily. 
Our  readers  are  aware,  ere  this,  that  our  Reminiscences 
of  Mr.  Forrest  are  of  a  desultory  character,  hence  we 
give  them  as  they  rise  up  in  memory  before  us. 

So  few  knew  Mr.  Forrest  outside  of  the  theatre, 
where,  amid  the  glare  of  light,  sound  of  music,  and  all 
the  paraphernalia  which  make  up  the  "mimic  world/' 
he  was  so  panoplied  in  "  armor  bright,"  or  dressed  in 
regal  robes,  that  his  private  character  was  judged  from 
a  stage  point  of  view.  It  is,  therefore,  not  unlikely 
that  a  portion  of  play-goers  would  form  an  opinion  of 
the  actor  from  the  character  he  impersonates.  They 
take  the  ideal  for  the  reality.  We  remember  when  the 
elder  Kean  was  playing  an  engagement  in  Philadelphia, 
in  the  year  1826,  a  young  girl  cried  out,  during  the 
performance  of  Richard  III.,  "Take  away  that  wicked 
man."  And  yet  the  actor  is  but  a  representative  of 


458  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKREST. 

what  are  supposed  to  be  the  real  personages  of  history, 
and  if  he  carries  along  with  such  impersonations  his 
own  individuality,  he  ceases  to  he  an  artist.  The 
young  lady  could  not  realize  the  fact  that  a  small  man 
with  a  smooth  face,  terrible  eyes,  and  a  hunchback, 
could  be  other  than  a  "  wicked  man."  But  the  actor, 
such  a  one  as  Forrest  in  repose,  is  "  himself  again," 
and  no  more  like  the  imperious  characters  of  the  drama 
than  was  David  to  Goliah. 

We  never  entered  his  library  but  we  found  him 
either  with  a  book  in  hand  or  engaged  at  the  writing 
table.  The  former,  however,  was  his  chief  employ 
ment  in  his  hours  of  ease.  No  one  could  have  imagined 
for  a  moment  that  the  quiet,  calm  student  before  him 
was  the  terrible  Lear  and  Othello  of  the  stage.  To 
hear  him  talk — to  listen  to  his  glorious  voice  as  he  read 
some  passages  from  a  favorite  poet — listen  to  his  anec 
dotes  and  his  masterly  imitation  of  all  the  great  actors 
of  his  time — hear  him  in  the  pathetic  scenes  of  the 
drama  and  of  fugitive  poetry,  particularly  that  of 
"The  Idiot  Boy" — no  one  would  ever  imagine  that 
the  stern  Roman  of  the  stage,  could  draw  tears  by  his 
wonderful  display  of  feeling  and  pathos  in  the  reading 
of  a  simple  poem. 

Mr.  Forrest  was  a  great  admirer  of  good  poetry,  and 
had  quite  a  collection  of  poems  cut  from  the  newspa 
pers  of  the  day.  To  have  heard  him  read  Whittier's 
beautiful  lines  of  "  School  Days,"  no  one  would  have 
imagined  for  a  moment,  that  this  same  voice  startled  a 
theatre  full  of  people  in  delivering  the  awful  curse  of 
Rome,  in  the  great  play  of  Richelieu. 

The  man  who  could  read  "  The  Idiot  Boy,"  so  as 
to  draw  tears  from  the  eyes  of  his  hearers,  and  recite 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKEEST.  459 

"  School  Days,"  to  conjure  up  the  days  of  our  youth — 
to  make  old  age  forget  its  decrepitude,  must  needs  be  a 
poet.  We  often  thought  that  Mr.  Forrest  indulged  in 
the  pleasing  walks  of  Parnassus,  but  we  never  discov 
ered  his  footprints  there.  Perhaps  the  following  lines 
are  the  only  ones  that  were  ever  published  as  coming 
from  his  pen:  They  were  written  in  New  Orleans, 
in  1829,  and  published  in  the  Louisiana  Advertiser : 

LINES 

On  the  lamented  death  of  HENRY  KEPPELE  BUNTING, 
Whose  virtues  gained  him  the  esteem  of  all  who  knew  him. 


"  How  slow  they  marched — each  youthful  face  was  pale, 
And  downcast  eyes  disclosed  the  mournful  tale, 
Grief  was  depicted  on  each  manly  brow, 
And  gloomy  tears  abundantly  did  flow 
From  each  sad  heart,  for  he  whose  breath"  had  fled, 
Was  loved  by  all — in  honor's  path  was  bred ; 
I  knew  him  well,  his  heart  was  pure  and  kind, 
A  noble  spirit  and  a  lofty  mind ! 
Virtue  cast  round  his  head  her  smiling  wreath, 
"Which  did  not  leave  him  on  his  bed  of  death. 
His  image  lives — and  from  my  grief-worn  heart, 
While  life  remains,  will  never,  never  part ! 
Weep,  soldiers,  weep  !  with  tears  of  sadness  lave 
Your  friend  and  brother's  drear,  untimely  grave." 

EDWIN. 


CHAPTER  XLIY. 

FORREST  IN  HIS  PICTURE  GALLERY.  —  LOVE  OF  ART.  — 
THE  LIBRARY.  -  REPEATING  THE  LORD'S  PRAYER.  - 
THE  MINISTER  AND  THE  ACTOR  CONTRASTED.  - 
WINE  AND  GRAPES.  -  THE  OLD  BIBLE.  -  REFERENCE 
TO  THE  FOLIO  OF  1623.  -  THE  RESULT.  -  THE  HIS 
TORY  OF  THIS  EDITION  OF  SHAKESPEARE'S  PLAYS. 
-  UNJUST  CRITICISM.  -  THE  LAST  SCENE  IN  THE 
LIBRARY. 


landscape  mentioned  in  our  last,  painted  by 
-*-  Meyer,  is  considered  the  gem  in  the  Forrest  Col 
lection.  The  principal  figure  is  a  girl,  as  already  de 
scribed,  which,  for  natural  beauty  and  artistic  skill  in 
its  portraiture,  has  few  equals  in  ancient  or  modern 
schools.  The  artist  seemed  to  have  invested  it  with  a 
sort  of  etherial  beauty,  which  had  taken  such  a  hold  of 
Mr.  Forrest,  that  he  made  it,  not  only  a  study,  but  ap 
parently  a  thing  to  worship.  With  him  this  picture 
became,  as  it  were,  a  part  and  portion  of  himself  —  the 
lovely  girl  recalled  some  passage  in  his  life  to  which  he 
had  alluded  on  several  occasions,  but  never  explained. 
For  hours  would  he  sit  in  the  gallery,  gazing  upon  it. 
What  his  thoughts  were  when  there  alone,  all  around 
him  still  as  the  silence  of  death,  no  one  ever  knew. 
Picture  him  in  your  mind's  eye  gazing  upon  that  child 
—  life-like  by  the  painter's  art  —  dreaming,  perhaps,  of 
some  bright  object  long  since  passed  away  from  him  — 

(460) 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FORKEST.  461 

and  earth  ;  picture  him  the  lone  man  seated  in  his  gal 
lery,  with  numerous  portraits  around  him,  some  so  nat 
ural  that  you  could  almost  hear  them  whisper !  there 
he  sits  gazing,  thinking,  dreaming  of  the  past — its  sun 
shine  and  joys ;  and  then  awakens  to  find  them  again 
in  that  picture.  We  could  never  gather,  by  word  or 
action,  any  clue  to  this  strange  morbid  feeling.  He 
has  been  known  to  get  up  in  the  dead  hour  of  the 
night,  go  into  the  gallery,  turn  on  the  gas,  and  sit 
gazing  on  that  picture  for  hours.  The  mystery  con 
nected  with  it,  died  with  him. 

No  one,  after  seeing  him  as  we  did,  would  ever 
accuse  Mr.  Forrest  of  being  ascetic  or  rough.  Few 
gave  him  credit  for  possessing  those  "  soft  parts  of  con 
versation  that  chamberers  have  ; "  they  associate  him 
with  the  sternness  of  tragedy,  the  might  of  Damon,  the 
inflexibility  of  Brutus,  the  dignity  of  Coriolanus,  or  the 
Diabola  of  Richard  III." 

These,  indeed,  seem  to  throw  around  an  actor  a  sort 
of  tragic  gloom.  See  him,  however,  when  the  stage 
illusion  has  passed  away,  and  you  find  him  as  fit  for 
comedy  and  farce  as  the  most  facetious  would  require. 
Such  was  Mr.  Forrest.  We  knew  him,  Horatio — a 
fellow  of  Infinite  jest,  of  most  excellent  fancy.  "  Mr. 
Forrest,"  says  one,  "was  rough  in  his  manner."  To 
whom  ?  At  rehearsal  he  was  strict,  for  he  could  not 
recognize  in  a  well-regulated  theatre  the  necessity  of 
trifling  with  any  part  of  an  actor's  duty  so  essential  to 
the  interests  of  the  stage  and  drama.  He  would  have 
all  men  artists,  or  at  least  the  lovers  of  an  art  which 
they  were  to  follow  as  a  profession.  Although  mere 
art  cannot  give  the  rules  that  make  art,  study  and  ap 
plication  can.  Men  would  come  to  rehearsal  of  a  morn- 


462  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

ing,  to  use  the  term  mildly,  drunk.  Others,  again, 
without  having  the  least  knowledge  of  what  they  had 
to  do  or  say.  Forrest's  impulsive  nature  could  not 
stand  this ;  he  would  speak  plain  and  to  the  purpose, 
perhaps  not  quite  so  complimentary  to  the  delinquents. 
As  the  founder,  we  may  say,  of  our  national  drama,  he 
had  the  right  to  check  abuses,  correct  errors,  and  estab 
lish  rules  for  the  dramatic  school  of  which,  although  he 
knew  not  then,  he  was  in  time  to  become  its  master  ! 

Seated  in  his  library  one  Sunday  afternoon,  when 
the  windows  were  open,  and  the  numerous  birds  in  his 
garden  were  sending  forth  their  happy  notes  as  hymns 
to  their  Creator,  and  the  voice  of  a  preacher  in  an  open 
lot  on  Broad  street  adding  discordance  to  all  that  is 
sweet  and  harmonious  in  nature,  he  would  express  his 
regret  that  nature  and  the  dramatic  art  were  not  more 
studied  by  the  ministry.  "  Now,"  said  he,  "  for  in 
stance" — and  he  stood  up,  not  with  an  air  of  mockery, 
but  with  the  confidence  that  his  great  art  would  so  im 
press  holy  words  as  to  bring  them  home  to  every  heart 
— "I'll  recite  the  Lord's  Prayer."  We  never  heard, 
and  probably  will  never  hear  again,  this  great  and 
solemn  prayer  read  or  recited,  we  may  say,  as  it  was  on 
this  occasion.  His  full-toned  voice,  the  depth  of  feel 
ing  displayed,  although  given  as  an  illustration,  seemed 
to  invest  the  great  actor  with  almost  prophetic  power. 
The  voice  of  the  preacher  in  the  open  lot  sounded 
harsh ;  his  yells  and  screams  to  win  sinners  were  those 
of  an  alarmist ;  there  was  no  harmony  in  their  sounds, 
no  true  sense  of  religion  to  give  them  effect.  The 
actor,  not  the  preacher,  seemed  to  us,  then,  the  only 
exponent  of  divine  things. 

Some  of  our  preachers  have  a  way  of  their  own, 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  4G3 

artificial,  pompous  and  unnatural.  There  is  a  want 
of  truth  and  nature  in  their  reading  and  delivery,  an 
absence  of  feeling  in  the  expression  of  sorrow  and  suf 
fering.  Every  passion  or  emotion  of  the  mind  has 
from  nature  its  proper  and  peculiar  countenance,  sound 
or  action ;  and  the  whole  body  of  the  man,  his  looks, 
and  every  tone  of  his  voice,  like  the  strings  of  an  in 
strument,  receive  their  expression  from  the  various 
impulses  the  subject  evokes.  We  have  heard  passages 
of  Job  read  by  an  actor,  which,  if  given  from  the  pul 
pit,  would  have  thrown  over  that  splendid  dramatic 
poem  a  new  light — a  light  brought  forth  by  the  power 
of  action  on  the  sealed  book,  and  opening  its  leaves  to 
sybilline  the  world  !  The  ancients  excelled  in  action  ; 
many  of  their  actors,  by  the  mere  exercise  of  their 
body  and  arms,  and  expression  of  countenance,  could 
describe  a  whole  story,  and  excite  an  audience  by  these 
qualities  alone.  An  actor  will  melt  an  audience  to 
tears  by  his  reading  the  "  Prodigal  Son,"  while  a 
preacher  will  not  excite  a  single  emotion.  When  Gar- 
rick  was  asked  by  a  celebrated  bishop  how  it  was  that 
an  actor  could  produce  such  an  effect  on  an  audience, 
so  as  to  cause  them  to  weep,  while  preachers  were  un 
able  to  create  a  similar  manifestation,  he  answered: 
"  Ministers  speak  truths  as  if  they  were  fictions,  while 
actors  speak  fictions  as  if  they  were  truths"  This 
seems  to  have  been  a  fault  in  pulpit  oratory  for  ages. 
An  old  writer  thus  quaintly  describes  an  orator;  "An 
oratour  is  he  that  can  or  may  speke  in  every  question 
sufficiently  elegantly  and  to  persuayde  properly,  accor- 
dynge  to  the  dygnytie  of  the  thyng  that  is  spoken  of,  the 
opportunity  of  tyme,  and  pleasure  of  them  that  be 
herers." 


464  LIFE    OF     EDWIN     FOEREST. 

Mr.  Forrest,  with  all  his  ponderous  grace,  elegance 
and  tragic  power,  was  remarkable  for  the  beauty  of  his 
reading  pathetic  pieces  and  Biblical  gems.  A  writer, 
speaking  upon  this  subject,  says  :  "  Your  action  must 
appear  natural  as  the  general  offspring  of  the  things 
you  express,  and  the  passion  that  moves  you  co  speak 
in  that  manner ;  in  short,  the  actor,  pleader  or  preacher, 
must  possess  that  discrimination  in  the  management 
of  his  actions,  that  there  may  be  nothing  in  all  the 
various  motions  and  dispositions  of  his  body  which 
may  be  offensive  to  the  eyes  of  his  auditors,  nothing 
grating  or  unharmonious  to  the  ear  in  his  pro 
nunciation  ;  in  that  case  his  person  will  be  less  agree 
able,  and  his  speech  less  efficacious,  by  wanting  that 
grace,  truth  and  power  it  would  otherwise  attain." 

We  are  still  in  the  library,  "  There,"  said  he,  "  are 
some  of  the  finest  grapes  in  the  country ;  they  are  from 
Springbrook ;  those  on  the  other  side  are  from  my 
hot-house  in  the  yard;  try  both."  Beside  the  grapes 
were  oranges,  lemons,  cakes,  apples,  pears,  old  brandy, 
and  rich  wines  of  the  choicest  brands;  cigars,  the  per 
fume  of  which  gave  zest  to  the  feast.  Such  was  the 
scene  Mr.  Forrest's  library  presented  to  welcome  friends. 
We  indulged  in  all  save  the  liquor  and  cigars.  "  I 
will  never  ask  you  to  drink  a  drop  in  my  house,"  he 
said,  afor  the  man  who  for  over  fifty  years  resisted  the 
temptation  of  the  bottle,  shall  never  say ;  '  It  was  here 
I  yielded/" 

"  You  need  not,"  was  our  reply :  "  although  not 
what  is  called  a  '  temperance  man,'  no  inducement 
under  heaven  can  shake  my  resolution  never  to  taste 
liquor  again" 

As  Mr.  Forrest,  during  our  numerous  visits,  scarce- 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  465 

ly  touched  a  glass  of  liquor,  we  are  pleased  to  add  here 
that  no  one  can  ever  accuse  him  of  having  been  an 
intemperate  man. 

"  There,"  said  he,  "do  you  see  that  old  Bible  ?" 
an  old  relic  of  some  by-gone  age.  "  That,  I  picked  up 
in  Africa ;  it  belonged  to  a  priest  attached  to  some 
mission.  He  wanted  money,  I  wanted  the  book.  I 
value  it  not  so  much  for  its  antiquity,  but  finding  it,  as 
I  did,  so  far  from  the  land  of  civilization." 

In  conversation  upon  topics  of  the  day,  Mr.  Forrest 
never  interlarded  his  language  with  quotations  from 
plays,  as  many  actors  do.  He  was  easy,  natural  and 
unaffected,  never  using  high-sounding  words  or  un 
necessary  oratorical  display.  Hyperbole,  so  frequently 
resorted  to  by  actors,  and  loud  talkers,  formed  no 
part  of  his  conversation.  You  hear  many  exclaim, 
"By  all  the  Grods,"  and  something  about  "high 
Olympus,"  "the  thunderbolts,"  "dogs  of  war,"  "shake 
not  your  gory  locks  at  me."  This  is  all  acting  off 
the  stage,  and  in  many  instances  much  better  than 
it  is  done  on.  To  hear  a  man  talk  thus  might  give 
the  few  some  exalted  notion  of  his  genius  from  a  nar 
row  point  of  view,  but  the  many  would  incontinently 
set  him  down  as  an  ass. 

Between  gentlemen  and  scholars,  unless  the  sub 
ject  of  conversation  tends  that  way,  all  these  hyper 
boles  and  expletives  are  discarded,  and  when  con 
versing  with  the  educated  actor  you  learn  one  fact ; 
that  he,  like  the  merchant  when  away  from  com 
mercial  business,  invariably  "  sinks  the  shop." 

It  is  Shirley  Brooks,  we  believe,  who  says  :  "  When 
engaged  at  my  trade,  I  require  all  my  tools ;  when 
remitted  to  leisure,  I  rejoice  to  lay  them  aside."  This 
29 


466  LIFE    OP    EDWIN    FORREST. 

is  true  logic  in  its  application  to  the  avocations  and 
business  of  life. 

We  had  occasion  some  few  years  ago  to  allude  to 
Mr.  Forrest's  private  habits,  and  speaking  upon  the 
subject,  after  a  visit,  similar  to  one  given  before,  we 
wrote  the  following: 

"During  our  conversation  allusions  were  frequently 
made  to  his  foreign  travels.  To  us  his  account  was  in 
teresting,  because  he  occasionally  spoke  of  places  and  of 
men  more  or  less  connected  with  the  drama's  history.  He 
had  trodden  on  classic  ground,  and  visited  places  where 
the  first  dawn  of  the  Grecian  drama  came  upon  the 
mimic  world.  It  was  only,  however,  when  something 
occurred  in  our  conversation,  that  he  alluded  to  his  travels, 
but  when  some  particular  scene  or  incident  connected  with 
them  was  called  up,  then  would  his  eyes  brighten,  and  his 
full-toned  voice,  rich  in  melody,  dilate  upon  the  subject, 
not  egotistically,  but  to  illustrate  some  peculiar  national 
trait  of  character,  or  manner  of  the  people.  When  we 
say  that  Mr.  Forrest's  tour  extended  to  portions  of  Africa, 
and  also  among  the  Moors,  even  beyond  the  line  of 
European  civilization,  it  may  be  imagined  that  he  was 
enabled  to  tell  us  something  of  a  people  which  the  genius 
of  Shakespeare  presents  to  us  in  the  character  of  Othello. 

"  We  never  met  with  a  traveller,  if  we  except  the  late 
John  Howard  Payne,  who  spoke  less  of  his  travels  than 
did  Mr.  Forrest.  It  might  be  that  he  considered  it  as 
savoring  too  much  of  egotism  to  speak  of  his  personal  ad 
ventures  in  foreign  lands.  Be  this  as  it  may,  we  were  re 
minded  strongly  of  our  first  interview  with  the  author  of 
Brutus,  whose  history  in  connection  with  his  foreign  travel 
was  never  uttered  while  living,  nor  written  since  his 
death.  Mr.  Forrest  just  said  enough  to  arouse  our  atten 
tion  to  this  fact,  that  it  was  not  all  labor  lost ;  and  we  have 
no  doubt  that  when  a  life  of  him  is  written,  his  notes  of 
travel  will  furnish  the  historian  with  many  interesting 
sketches,  apart  from  the  local  interest  naturally  attached  to 
it.  Mr.  Forrest's  vast  library  room  has  several  centre 
tables  and  desks ;  these  are  laden  with  all  the  paraphernalia 
of  a  man  of  letters  and  of  business.  Books,  pamphlets, 
and  newspapers  are  scattered  around,  but  arranged  in 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  4G7 

perfect  order;  everything  tells  you  at  once  he  is  no  idler. 
Every  table  has  its  history.  Here  is  one  that  looks  as  if 
it  was  arranged  for  business  matters;  here  another,  evi 
dently  used  for  literary  purposes,  for  we  see  books  open 
for  quotation  or  reference,  and  slips  of  paper,  evidently 
notes  and  memorandum.  A  glance,  however,  showed  us 
that  the  matter  was  more  of  a  practical  than  a  dramatic 
selection  of  items.  Near  to  a  window,  in  the  rear  of 
the  library  opening  out  into  his  extensive  gardens,  stood 
a  table  laden  with  much  solid  matter,  and  we  at  once 
set  it  down  as  his  autobiographical  table.  Here,  we  said 
to  ourselves,  will  be  written  the  life  of  Edwin  Forrest, 
the  tragedian,  by  the  author  himself. 

"Although  nearly  the  whole  of  this  vast  room  is  filled 
with  books  and  some  rare  relics,  all  bearing  evidence  of 
mental  culture,  industry,  and  study,  still  there  were  certain 
mysterious-shaped  things  that  denoted  some  attention  to 
physical  culture,  such  as  Indian  clubs,  used  for  the  pur 
poses  of  exercising  the  muscles  of  the  arms,  dumb-bells, 
etc.  In  fact,  Mr.  Forrest  told  us  of  the  various  exercises 
in  which  he  indulged,  apart  from  these  visible  evidences, 
that  would  in  our  opinion,  kill  two-thirds  of  those  who 
attempted  them,  but  in  his  case  they  act  as  charms  to  give 
him  health  and  strength. 

"  As  ours  is  a  mere  pen-and-ink  sketch  of  Mr.  Forrest 
and  his  surroundings,  attractive  and  pleasing  as  they  are, 
it  must  necessarily  be  very  imperfect.  We  had  purposed 
to  give  our  readers  a  more  extended  notice  of  Mr.  For 
rest's  inner  life,  there  is  so  much  to  see,  to  admire,  and 
so  much  to  covet,  if  we  may  confess  our  sin,  that  we 
found  it  impossible  to  confine  our  pen  to  him  altogether. 
Books,  engravings,  photographs,  pictures,  paintings,  sculp 
ture  and  relics  meet  the  eye  at  every  turn  ;  and  when 
we  left  the  house  it  was  with  mingled  feelings  of  pride 
and  admiration,  for  the  visit  only  tended  to  strengthen 
our  opinion  of  the  stage,  and  that  with  such  men  as  Mr. 
Forrest  as  its  head,  it  would  soon  become,  to  use  the 
language  of  John  Stiles,  ( the  mirror  of  a  nation's  virtue, 
and  the  enlightened  and  polished  school  of  a  free  people.'" 

We  were  speaking  one  day,  when  seated  in  his 
library,  about  some  of  our  early  scenes  in  the  happy 
days  of  boyhood.  The  subject  gradually  turned  to  the 


468  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

stage.  We  called  his  attention  again  to  the  oft  dis 
puted  passage  in  Hamlet,  to  which  we  have  alluded  in 
another  chapter,  "I'll  call  thee  Hamlet/'  etc. 

"Why  do  you  continue  to  read  as  you  do,  when 
satisfied  in  your  own  mind  that  it  is  not  correct  ?  " 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  I  have  an  idea,  sometimes,  it  is 
the  most  proper ;  still,  as  I  have  been  so  accustomed 
to  read  it  so,  I  doubt  if  I  were  convinced  of  my  error, 
I  would  read  it  so  still." 

"Custom,"  we  remarked,  " should  never  sustain 
error.  We  differ,  however,  and  so  let  the  matter  rest. 
But,"  casting  our  eyes  toward  where  lay  the  folio  of 
1623,  of  which  he  set  so  high  a  value,  not  in  money, 
but  in  its  age  and  close  affinity  with  those  who  had  it 
printed — "  have  you  ever  referred  to  that  edition  ?  if 
not,  let  us  look  for  the  passage  now."  It  appeared 
he  never  had,  strange  as  it  may  sound. 

We  both  went  to  where  the  "sacred  volume,"  in 
a  dramatic  sense,  was,  and  its  leaves  were  carefully 
turned  over  until  we  came  to  Hamlet,  and  to  my  great 
satisfaction,  and  Mr.  Forrest's  surprise,  we  found  the 
passage  marked  thus : 

"  I'll  call  thee  Hamlet ! 
King !  Father !  Royal  Dane  ! — Oh,  answer  me  !  " 

This  edition  of  Shakespeare — the  first  folio — was 
published  in  1623,  by  Heminge  and  Condell,  two 
prominent  members  of  the  company,  who  were  still 
connected  with  the  theatre  at  the  time  it  was  going 
through  the  press ;  hence  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  the 
punctuation  was  in  accordance  with  the  manner  with 
which  it  was  spoken  on  the  stage. 

Forrest  gazed  on  the  page,  and  quietly  observed : 
"You  are  right;"  and  yet,  when  he  gave  his  readings 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  469 

in  Philadelphia  and  in  New  York,  he  read  it  as  he 
had  on  every  occasion  of  his  playing  Hamlet. 

The  fate  of  this  volume  is  well  known  to  our 
readers.  The  destruction  of  the  dramatic  library  by  fire 
BO  shortly  after  his  death,  is  of  a  more  serious  nature 
than  at  first  was  imagined.  The  very  books  which 
were  so  essential  to  the  " Edwin  Forrest  Home"  were 
destroyed — works  that  cannot  be  replaced,  or  if  some  of 
them  could,  they  would  not  be  like  those  lost,  for  on  the 
margin  of  the  leaves  of  many,  particularly  Malone's 
edition  of  Shakespeare,  Mr.  Forrest  had  made  numer 
ous  notes — notes  that  marked  the  intellectuality  of  the 
man,  and  the  great  Shakesperian  scholar  that  he  was. 
When  we  last  saw  the  crisp-burnt  copy  of  this  folio 
smouldering  in  its  ashes,  a  few  leaves  only  remaining 
to  tell  its  sad  story,  we  thought  of  its  owner  lying 
there  in  the  deep  vault,  his  last  resting-place,  while  all 
that  he  most  valued  was  now,  what  he  soon  would  be 
—ashes.  How  he  valued  that  book — venerating  alike 
its  age  and  its  author  !  How  often  had  he  said  to  us: 
"If  this  house  took  fire,  and  I  could  save  that  book, 
and  one  picture,  in  the  gallery,  all  the  rest  might  go." 
Nearly  all  the  rest  did  go,  at  least  of  those  books  so 
essential  to  the  "  Edwin  Forrest  Home,"  but  with  them 
went  the  folio  of  1623.  The  picture  he  so  highly 
valued  was  saved,  as  the  fire  did  not  reach  his  picture 
gallery.  The  burning  of  Mr.  Forrest's  library  has 
elicited  much  comment,  and  as  yet  no  satisfactory  ac 
count  of  it  has  been  given  to  the  public.  One  other 
reason  that  induces  us  to  allude  to  it  now,  is  that  many 
persons  are  under  the  impression  that  the  folio  of 
Shakespeare's  plays  (1623),  and  other  valuable  dra 
matic  works,  were  not  destroyed.  Crisped  and  rendered 
forever  useless,  is  all  that  remains  of  the  folio  of  1623. 


470  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEREST. 

As  a  relic  of  the  burning,  it  can  be  shown  to  strangers ; 
a  sad  memorial,  it  is  true. 

As  this,  the  first  folio  edition  of  Shakespeare's 
plays,  is  now  so  rare,  and  commands  such  fabulous 
prices,  some  account  of  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  in 
these  Reminiscences. 


PUBLISHED    IN    1623. 

John  Heminge,  and  Henrie  Condell,  brother  actors 
with  Shakespeare,  and  Directors  of  the  King's  Com 
pany  of  Comedians,  published  the  first  edition. 

The  following  is  an  actual  copy  of  the  title  page  of 
Shakespeare's  plays  complete,  known  as  the  folio  of 
1623.  It  is  faced,  on  a  fly  leaf,  by  the  verses  of  Ben 
Jonson,  on  the  head  of  Shakespeare,  engraved  by 
Droeshout,  which  occupies  the  centre : 

"  Mr.  William  Shakespeare's  Comedies,  Histories,  & 
Tragedies.  Published  according  to  the  True  original 
copies.  London.  Printed  by  Isaac  Jaggard,  and  Ed. 
Blount,  1623." 

At  the  bottom  of  the  fly  leaf  of  the  volume  is  the 
following  Colophon : 

"  Printed  at  the  charges  of  Wm.  Jaggard,  Ed.  Blount, 
J.  Smithweeke,  and  W.  Aspley,  1623." 

The  following  are  the  verses  of  Ben  Jonson : 

TO   THE   READER. 

"  This  figure  that  thou  here  sees't  put 
It  was  for  gentle  Shakespeare  cut ; 
Wherein  the  Grauer  had  a  strife 
With  nature,  to  out-doo  the  life : 
O,  could  he  but  haue  drawne  his  wit 
As  well  in  brasse,  as  he  hath  hit 
His  face  ;  the  print  would  then  surpasse 
All  that  was  ever  writ  in  brasse, 
But  since  he  cannot,  Reader,  looke 
Not  on  his  picture,  but  his  booke." 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOBKEST.  471 

We  give  Ben  Jonson's  testimonial  exactly  as  it 
stands  in  the  folio  of  1623,  for  it  afterwards  went 
through  various  literal  changes.  There  are  other 
commendatory  verses,  prefixed  to  the  folio  of  1623, 
from  different  authors,  viz.,  L.  Digges,  J.  M.  (per 
haps  the  initials  of  John  Marston)  and  Hugh  Holland. 

This  edition  is  dedicated  "  To  the  most  Noble  and 
Incomparable  Paire  of  Brethren,  William  Earle  of 
Pembroke  &c.,  Lord  Chamberlaine  to  the  King's  most 
Excellent  Majesty.  And  Philip  Earle  of  Montgomery, 
&c.,  Gentlemen  of  his  Majestie's  Bed  Chamber.  Both 
Knights  of  the  most  Noble  Order  of  the  Garter,  and 
our  singular  good  Lords/' 

This  dedication  is  signed  by  John  Heminge  and 
Henrie  Condell.  Accompanying  this  is  an  address : 

TO    THE    GREAT    VARIETY    OF    READERS. 

As  both  the  dedication  and  address  are  lengthy, 
and  not  of  sufficient  interest,  we  will  give  a  short  ex 
tract  from  the  latter,  as  containing  the  only  portion 
more  particularly  connected  with  the  immortal  bard : 

"  It  had  bene  a  thing,  we  confesse,  worthy  to  haue  bene 
"  wished,  that  the  Author  himselfe  had  liu'd  to  haue  set 
"  forth,  and  ouerseen  his  owne  writings ;  But  since  it  hath 
"  bin  ordain'd  otherwise,  and  he  by  death  departed  from 
"  that  right,  we  pray  you  doe  not  envie  his  Friends  the  of- 
"  fice  of  their  care,  and  paine,  to  have  collected,  and  pub- 
"  lish'd  them;  and  so  to  have  purtis'd  them,  as  where  (be- 
"  fore)  you  were  abus'd  with  divers  stolne,  and  surrepti- 
"  tious  copies,  maimed,  and  deformed  by  the  frauds,  and 
"  stealthes  of  injurious  impost-era,  that  expos'd  them ;  even 
"  those  are  now  offer' d  to  your  view  cur'd  and  perfect  of 
"  their  limbs ;  and  all  the  rest,  absolute  in  their  numbers, 
"  as  he  concerned  the ;  Who,  as  he  was  a  happie  imitator 
u  of  Nature,  was  a  most  gentle  expresser  of  it.  His  mind 
"and  heart  went  together:  And  what  he  thought,  he  vt- 


472  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORKEST. 

"  tered  with  that  easinesse,  that  wee  haue  scarse  receued 
"  from  him  a  blot  in  his  papers.  But  it  is  not  our  prouince, 
"  who  onely  gather  his  works  and  give  them  you,  to  praise 
"  him.  It  is  yours  that  reade  him."  *  *  * 

This  is  signed  by  JOHN  HEMINGE  and  HENBIB 
CONDELL. 

As  we  close  the  chapter  which  we  head  "  The  Li 
brary,"  the  last  interview  we  had  with  our  lamented 
friend  in  it,  may  not  prove  uninteresting  to  our  readers. 
On  the  Tuesday  previous  to  his  death,  we  had  a  long 
and  pleasant  conversation.  His  reference  to  our  early 
days ;  the  old  South  Street  Theatre ;  the  Tivoli,  and 
his  first  appearance  at  the  Walnut  Street  Theatre,  was 
spoken  of  with  a  sort  of  foreshadowing  of  his  coming 
end.  It  did  not  affect  us  then,  but  since  his  death  the 
shadow  assumes  reality.  Mr.  Forrest  had  concluded 
his  readings  in  New  York.  In  a  pecuniary  point  of 
view  they  were  not  successful,  nor  did  the  "critics" 
of  that  city  give  him  credit  for  the  correctness  of 
the  rendition  of  the  text.  On  this  afternoon  these 
criticisms  were  the  subject  of  our  conversation;  and  we 
would  observe  here  that  Mr.  Forrest  manifested  not 
the  least  temper  on  the  occasion,  on  the  contrary,  he 
laughed  heartily  at  a  critic  accusing  him  of  reading 
Hamlet  in  this  manner : 

"  Thus  was  I  sleeping  by  a  brother's  hand." 

instead  of — 

"  Thus  was  I,  sleeping,  by  a  brother's  hand 
Of  life,  of  crown,  of  Queen  at  once  despatched." 

"  Is  there  a  man,"  he  said,  "  in  this  community, 
could  imagine  for  a  moment  that  I,  who  have  made 


LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FOE  BE  ST.  473 

Shakespeare  a  life's  study,  would  render  his  text  in 
this  ridiculous  manner  ! " 

Then  we  came  to  another.  The  writer  says,  "  Mr. 
Forrest  read,  '  dead  vast/  instead  of  i  dead  waste/ " 
The  folio  edition,  and  some  of  the  quartoes  have  it 
"  wast,"  and  "  waist."  In  the  first  folio,  the  only  au 
thority,  it  is  "vast."  Mr.  Forrest  uses  it,  as  it  is 
evident  Shakespeare  intended,  to  denote  "  the  vacancy 
and  the  void  of  night,"  the  "deserted  emptiness,"  and 
"the  still  of  midnight."  "  Vast"  being  taken  in  its 
primitive  sense  for  desolate,  void,  and  not  in  the  sense 
of  "waste,"  as  expressed  in  this  sentence,  "They  made 
the  waste — the  waste  wilderness."  Vast  is  Nature's 
vacuity  of  space,  and  as  Milton  uses  it,  "  the  vast  of 
Heaven,"  and  as  Shakespeare  uses  it  in  "  The  Tem 
pest,"  as  "that  vast  of  night." 

Then  our  attention  was  called  to  another  supposed 
correction  of  Mr.  Forrest's  reading:  —  "Thou  dead 
corse"  the  critic  said,  should  be  read  " dread  corse." 
The  latter  is  a  modern  interpretation  of  the  text, 
based  on  the  idea  of  the  first  being  tautological.  The 
definition  of  the  word  corse,  fully  sustains  Shakespeare's 
use  of  the  word,  while  at  the  same  time  it  confutes 
the  theory  of  being  tautological.  "A  dead  human 
body,  a  corse,"  etc.  Dead  corse  is  Shakespeare.  The 
old  authors  also  used  the  word  "dead,"  in  connection 
with  "  corses,"  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following : — 

"  That  ye  say'd  ii  deed  corses  were  drawe  downe  the 
Bteyers  without  pytie,  and  layed  in  ye  court  that  all  men 
myght  beholde  that  myserable  spectacle." 

This  passage  will  be  found  in  Fabyan.  K.  John, 
an.  8.— 


474  LIFE     OF    EDWIN     FOKREST. 

Again,  a  critic  said,  Mr.  Forrest  read  a  passage 
thus  : — "  You  know  sometimes  he  walks  four  hours 
together,  here  in  the  lobby/'  instead  of,  "  he  walks  for 
hours/'  etc. 

The  Shakesperian  scholar  knows  full  well  that 
"four  hours  "  is  the  proper  reading.  In  many  of  the 
old  English  plays,  as  well  as  those  of  Shakespeare,  the 
words  "four  hours/'  "three  hours,"  "two  hours,"  are 
invariably  used,  and  seldom  do  you  find  "  for  hours  " 
in  connection  with  the  specification  of  time  and  place. 

Connected  with  this  interview  are  one  or  two  other 
incidents  which  we  will  name.  He  had  been  reading 
the  Provoked  Wife,  by  Sir  John  Vanbrugh  (1697).  He 
had  marked  a  passage,  as  he  said,  "for  our  especial 
notice/'  showing  the  immoral  state  of  the  drama  at 
that  time.  He  read  the  passage  marked,  and  gave 
one  of  his  peculiar  laughs,  which,  apart  from  the  sub 
ject,  made  one  laugh  with  him.  It  was  the  laugh  of 
a  man  at  peace  with  all  the  world. 

He  handed  me  on  the  same  day  an  envelope  with 
this  inscription: — "Bill  of  the  play,  George  Fred. 
Cooke,  Boston."  The  play-bill  is  dated  February 
5th,  1812,  "  Merchant  of  Venice." 

Beside  the  Provoked  Wife  lay  a  MSS.  play  we 
loaned  him  to  read  a  few  days  previous,  written  by 
John  Howard  Payne,  entitled  The  Italian  Bride.  It 
lies  there  now,  for  he  had  no  time  to  finish  it — death 
was  in  haste,  and  he  had  to  leave. 

The  last  words  he  uttered,  as  we  parted  at  the 
door  of  his  library,  were — "God  bless  you!"  God 
had  blessed  me  in  the  friendship  of  such  a  man  as 
Edwin  Forrest. 

We  have  frequently  thought,  since  the  death  of 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FORREST.  475 

Mr.  Forrest,  that  these  criticisms,  so  unjust,  so  uncalled 
for  and  evidently  personal,  had  some  effect  upon  him. 
Although  he  strove  to  hide  it,  there  were  times  we 
knew  when  they  were  conned  over  in  a  bitter  spirit. 
These  "  unfledged  critics — hirelings  of  the  press,"  who 
only  know  Skakespeare  from  a  stage  point  of  view, 
dared  to  criticise  the  readings  of  a  man  who  had  made 
the  original  texts  a  life  study.  They  had  performed 
their  dirty  work,  pocketed  their  hire,  and  were  content. 
The  tongue  of  calumny  and  the  pen  envenomed 
with  the  poison  of  "  envy,  malice  and  all  uncharitable- 
ness,"  can  never  touch  him  more. 

"After  life's  fitful  fever,  he  sleeps  well." 

In  connection  with  this  portion  of  our  Keminis- 
cences,  the  following  article  from  the  pen  of  T.  H. 
Morrell,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  will  be  read  with  pleasure, 
as  an  able  vindication  of  the  distinguished  tragedian 
from  the  attack  of  &pseudo  critic. 

ME.  FORREST'S  LATE  READINGS  IN  NEW  YORK. — "FREE 
LANCE"  SHIVERED,  IF  NOT  BROKEN. 

King. — Have  you  heard  the  argument  ?     Is  there  no  offence  in  't  ? 
Hamlet. — *    *  No  offence  i'  the  world. 

Hamlet,  Act  III.  Scene  2. 

"  In  replying  briefly  to  an  article  contributed  to  a 
daily  contemporary,  a  few  days  since,  its  correspondent 
bearing  the  pseudonym  of  £  Free  Lance/  and  in  which 
the  writer  '  takes  up  arms  against  a  sea  of  troubles/ 
and  wildly  brandishes  his  weapon  in  the  hope  of  anni 
hilating  all,  whether  '  native,  to  the  manor  born/  or  of 
foreign  extraction,  who  have  recently  attempted  in  our 
city  to  honor  by  interpretation  the  creations  of  the 
mighty  Bard — and  yet  so  skilfully  modifying  his  hyper- 


476  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

criticism  in  the  endeavor  to  see  how  near  he  may  come 
to  the  mark  without  hitting  it — I  propose  only  to  recur 
to  the  remarks  respecting  the  veteran  of  the  American 
stage,  Mr.  Forrest,  they  forming  the  opening  portion 
of  his  lengthy  and  certainly  not  uninteresting  paper. 

"An  admirer  of  the  great  tragedian,  though  having 
no  personal  acquaintance  with  the  gentleman,  it  is  not 
my  intention  to  take  up  the  gauntlet  in  defence  of  Mr. 
Forrest  as  an  artist,  nor  do  I  propose  to  enter  into  any 
controversy  in  the  matter,  believing  that,  at  this  late 
day,  no  such  step  is  necessary,  and  least  of  all,  desired. 

"But  in  justice  to  the  intelligence  and  culture  of  a 
large  portion  of  our  citizens  who  have  in  years  back 
flocked  to  witness  this  actor's  delineations  (among 
which  the  character  referred  to  has  always  been  a 
prominent  feature),  whatever  difference  of  opinion  may 
exist  in  regard  to  Mr.  Forrest's  rendition  of  the  role  of 
the  ' Melancholy  Dane'  (the  right  to  criticise  which  is 
freely  acknowledged),  it  is  but  proper  that  the  sweep 
ing  assertion  made  by  a  certain  critic,  that  '  Mr.  For 
rest  does  not  understand  what  Hamlet  means,'  should 
be  promptly  refuted  as  utterly  devoid  of  consistency, 
fairness  and  candor. 

"'Free  Lance'  (unlike,  however,  the  critic),  while 
diverging  somewhat  from  the  actual  statistical  and  his 
torical  facts,  has  certainly  evinced  a  considerable  dis 
play  of  ability,  proceeding  no  doubt  from  earnest  and 
candid  conviction. 

"  And  first,  while  he  has  undoubtedly  been  allured 
by  the  fascinations  of  such  plays  of  '  singular  construc 
tion  and  cotemporaneous  events '  as  have  been  produced 
by  our  youngest  manager,  it  is  very  evident  that  in 
making  the  assertion  that  '  England's  neglected  Shake- 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FORREST.  477 

speare  is  preferable  to  America's  murdered  one/  he  has 
never  witnessed,  or  perhaps  heard  of,  certain  Shake- 
sperian  characters,  as  represented  by  the  following 
American  artists,  viz. :  The  FalstafF  of  Hackett,  For 
rest's  Lear,  Booth's  lago,  Davenport's  Hamlet,  Adams' 
Mercutio,  Gilbert's  Dogberry,  and  Miss  Cushman's 
Lady  Macbeth,  creations  which  to-day  stand  side  by  side 
with  the  same  impersonations,  in  times  long  past,  by 
Henderson,  Garrick,  Cooke,  Kemble,  Cooper,  Moody, 
and  Mrs.  Siddons.  And,  again,  in  stating  that  'Mr. 
Forrest  was  born  at  a  time  when  lungs  meant  more 
than  art,'  he  displays  an  almost  inexcusable  ignorance 
of  the  history  of  'the  English  stage,  which  from  the 
year  1800  to  1820  was  illumined  by  the  most  brilliant 
meteors  that  ever  graced  the  histrionic  firmament,  all 
of  which  were  pre-eminent  for  their  intellectual  rather 
than  their  physical  powers.  The  stately  Kemble 
(John  Phillip)  and  his  peerless  sister,  Mrs.  Siddons, 
the  gifted,  though  unfortunate,  George  Frederick 
Cooke,  the  classical  Vandenhoff,  the  gentlemanly 
Charles  Kemble,  the  handsome  Wallack,  Junius  Bru 
tus  Booth,  Young,  Miss  O'Neill  (buried  only  a  few 
days  since),  and  others,  not  to  forget  that  wonderful 
genius,  Edmund  Kean,  who,  bursting  forth  before  the 
foot-lights  of  bankrupt  Drury  Lane,  on  the  night  of 
February  26th,  1814,  like  some  golden  aurora  upon 
the  frozen  regions  of  barren  northern  wilds,  startled  by 
his  originality,  his  fiery  impetuosity,  his  devilish  sub 
tlety,  and  his  sublime  pathos,  the  very  foundations  of 
dramatic  England. 

"'Free  Lance'  demurs  also  at  the  tragedian's 
rendition  of  the  text  of  Hamlet,  especially  noting  the 
well-known  lines : 


478  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

" «  Or  that  the  Everlasting  had  not  fixed 
His  canon  'gainst  self-slaughter.' 

"And  if  not  regarding  with  sacred  awe  the  com 
mandment  of  the  Omnipresent  and  All- Seeing  One — 
His  canon  above  all  others,  and  who  alone  has  warned 
us  of  that 

"  '  Dread  of  something  after  death — 

The  undiscover'd  country,  from  whose  bourn 
No  traveller  returns,' 

of  what  avail  would  be  all  human  and  moral  prohi 
bition  ? 

"Surely  Mr.  Forrest  might  well  pronounce,  with 
reverential  emphasis,  *  His  canon '  only,  the  fiat  of  Him 
who  can  make  and  unmake  judges,  and  who  has  writ 
ten  in  imperishable  characters  on  tablets  unchange 
able,  immortal  as  his  own  Divinity,  i  Thou  shaft  do  no 
murder.' 

"If  the  said  correspondent  of  ' cotemporaneous 
and  singular  construction'  will  refer  to  the  original 
folio  of  the  great  Bard  (or  to  the  admirable  fac-simile 
reprint  made  by  Booth,  of  London,  not  long  since),  he 
will  find  that  Polonius  thus  addresses  the  King : 

" '  You  know  sometimes 
He  walks  FOURE  houres  together,  heere 
In  the  Lobby.' 

"  This  is  as  Shakespeare  wrote  it,  not  as  '  Free 
Lance'  would  read  it. 

"The  other  readings  objected  to  are  but  of  little 
importance,  being  possibly,  defects  of  hearing,  for 
while  'all  his  reports  go  with  the  naked  truth/  I  say  it 
in  a  spirit  of  Christian  charity,  they  may  not  have 
accompanied  the  un  varnished  facts. 

"Again,  I  cannot   coincide  with  the  bearer  of  a 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  479 

'Free  Lance '  (though,  I  fear,  a  frail  one)  in  his  regret 
that  <  Mr.  Forrest  should  not  retire  to  a  life  of  elegant 
leisure/  believing  that  the  new  field  the  veteran  has 
chosen  will  only  add  renewed  lustre  to  his  wondrous 
intellectual  powers,  still  undimmed  and  unimpaired. 
Without  a  rival  near  his  throne,  our  actor  may  yet 
pursue  'the  even  tenor  of  his  way/  assured  that  there 
will  never  he  but  one  Edwin  Forrest." 


CHAPTER   XLV. 


CLOSE  OF  A  BRILLIANT  CAREER.  —  THE  UNCERTAINTY 
OF  LIFE.  -  FAREWELL.  -  OUR  LAST  INTERVIEW, 
TUESDAY  EVENING,  DECEMBER  10TH,  1872.  -  TER 
RIBLE  ANNOUNCEMENT.  -  DEATH. 


close  of  Mr.  Forrest's  dramatic  career  was  as 
brilliant  as  was  the  light  that  shone  upon  his 
youthful  beginning  fifty  years  gone  by.  The  bright 
dream  of  the  boy  was  realized  in  age.  He  had  attained 
the  height  to  which  his  youthful  ambitious  aspirations 
aimed  ;  he  had  mastered  all  the  difficulties  that  beset 
his  pathway,  and  climbed  young  ambition's  ladder 
until  he  reached  its  utmost  round.  From  thence  he 
looked  down  upon  the  great  moving  panorama  of  the 
drama,  as  section  after  section  passed  away  from  him, 
and  wondered  if  ever  again  he  should  take  part  in  its 
revolving  course.  No  !  never  again  —  never  here.  The 
curtain  fell  on  the  last  act  of  his  dramatic  life,  and  the 
great  tragedian  passed  from  the  busy  scenes  of  an 
actor's  career,  to  the  quiet  inactive  one  of  private  life. 


480  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

Was  it  his  intention  to  retire  from  the  stage  ?  Had 
the  curtain  indeed  fallen  forever  between  him  and  the 
public  ?  Was  the  sound  of  applause  that  greeted  him 
on  every  occasion  of  his  entrance  on  the  stage,  in  some 
favorite  character,  to  be  heard  no  more?  Was  the 
image  of  Lear  to  disappear  with  this  great  representa 
tive — the  only  portraiturest  of  that  creation  of  Shake 
speare's  genius  ?  Was  Kichelieu's  startling  picture  to 
be  copied  by  some  vile  pretender  ?  No !  the  great 
master  was  only  resting  from  his  labors.  Three-score 
and  six  years  had  not  dimmed  the  fire  of  his  eye,  nor 
the  lustre  of  his  mind.  Physically,  he  was  strong  ;  and 
with  a  frame  of  vast  muscular  power,  many,  very  many 
years  were  set  down  by  him  in  life's  calendar  yet.  His 
only  enemy  was  the  gout ;  this,  he  thought  to  conquer ; 
"  and  when  I  do/'  said  he,  "I  shall  go  upon  the  stage 
again  a  better  actor  than  ever."  How  applicable  to 
this  period  of  his  life  is  the  following  speech,  made  by 
him  some  twenty  years  before,  on  his  contemplated 
retirement  from  the  stage,  to  turn  his  attention  to  farm 
ing.  It  was  delivered  during  what  he  called  his  fare 
well  engagement  in  New  Orleans  : 

"LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :— The  little  bell  which 
told  the  falling  of  the  curtain  also  announced  my  final 
departure  from  among  you.  For  the  last  quarter  of  a  cen 
tury  you  have  cheered  my  efforts.  From  the  time  that  I 
landed,  a  nameless  stranger  among  you,  until  the  present 
period — I  have  been  crowned  by  you  with  most  brilliant 
success.  I  wish  to  change  my  pursuit — I  would  not  '  lag 
superfluous  on  the  stage.'  I  have  chosen  a  pursuit  congenial 
to  my  feelings — that  pursuit  which  the  immortal  Washing 
ton  pronounced  one  of  the  most  noble,  most  useful  ever 
followed  by  man — the  tilling  of  the  soil.  And  now, 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  have  to  say  that  little  word,  which 
is  often  said  hi  this  sad,  bright  world — '  Farewell ! ' '' 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKREST.  481 

Farewell !  yes,  it  was  a  word  that  made  him  feel  sad 
then,  for  he  was  so  overcome  by  emotion  that  he  was 
forced  to  retire  from  the  stage.  His  eyes  were  moist 
with  tears  of  parting  friendship. 

But  how  different  now !  At  the  very  moment  when 
he  was  planning  schemes  for  the  future ;  surrounded 
with  all  that  wealth  and  taste  could  bestow ;  with  all 
the  implements  of  his  great  art  scattered  around  him — 
Shakespeare  in  every  form  of  type  and  binding,  from 
the  earliest  folio  to  the  last  edition  published  here  and 
in  Europe.  There,  amid  the  treasured  works  of  past 
ages,  books,  pictures  in  oil,  and  engravings,  sculptured 
figures,  added  to  objects  of  vertu,  stood  the  representa 
tive  of  the  heroes  of  Shakespeare,  a  rich,  popular,  and, 
as  we  thought,  a  happy  man.  Happiness  does  not 
always  accompany  wealth ;  still,  with  the  memories  of 
the  past  crowding  his  mind,  the  strong  will  of  the  man 
subdued  every  emotion  that  was  calculated  to  im 
press  its  workings  on  his  countenance.  He  had  ever  an 
open  hand  and  a  smile  for  his  friends  to  welcome  them. 

It  was  thus  we  parted  from  him  on  Tuesday  eve 
ning,  December  10th,  1872:  when  he  said,  as  he 
grasped  our  hand — "  God  bless  you!"  Was  it  our  last 
meeting — our  last  parting  in  life  ?  Was  the  dark  wing 
of  death  fluttering  o'er  his  head  ?  Was  the  bell  to 
strike,  and  the  curtain  to  fall  between  him  and  life's 
future,  to  rise  no  more  ?  The  dawning  of  two  more 
suns  told  the  fearful  tale. 

On  Thursday  morning,  the  12th  of  December,  1872, 
about  nine  o'clock,  we  were  called  upon  by  a  faithful 
servant  of  Mr.  Forrest's,  who  gave  the  alarming  intel 
ligence  that  he  was  lying  senseless,  and  apparently 
dead.  She  gave  the  information  in  wild  accents, 
30 


482  LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FO11KEST. 

almost  unintelligible.  In  ten  minutes  we  stood  at  his 
bedside.  We  had  sent  word  by  a  messenger  to  Col. 
John  W.  Forney  and  Daniel  Dougherty  ere  we  left  our 
house,  requesting  them  to  come  immediately. 

The  appearance  of  the  body — the  calm  features, 
flesh  still  warm — had  none  of  those  indications  which 
the  death-stricken  have.  We  looked  around  for  the 
means  of  restoring  him  to  consciousness,  fully  impressed 
with  the  conviction  that  it  was  a  stupor  from  which  he 
might  readily  be  aroused.  We  bathed  his  head  and 
neck  with  Cologne  water.  Finding  this  did  no  good, 
we  raised  his  head  gently,  in  the  hope  that  the  motion 
would  cause  a  reaction  in  the  dormant  state — lethargic 
we  thought.  Still  there  were  no  signs  of  life.  All  this 
time  his  two  female  servants  and  his  coachman  stood 
anxiously  watching  the  result.  At  last  the  awful 
truth  flashed  upon  us,  and  we  exclaimed:  "  My  God! 
he  is  dead!"  The  moment  these  words  escaped  us, 
there  was  a  cry  of  agony  from  the  women  that  was 
heart-rending.  No  time,  however,  was  to  be  lost.  In 
less  than  fifteen  minutes  we  had  a  doctor  beside  the 
bed.  Anxiously  we  watched  his  every  motion  ;  the 
placing  of  the  ear  over  the  region  of  the  heart — the 
close  examination  of  the  eyes — the  raising  up  of  the 
arms — and  then,  their  falling  heavily  on  the  bed — we 
knew,  then,  that  it  was  the  sleep  of  death,  from  which 
there  was  no  awakening  on  earth. 

The  great  tragedian  had  passed  away  in  the  light 
of  the  morning  sun,  whose  rays  came  down  through 
the  lofty  windows  upon  his  noble  brow,  and  shed  over 
him,  and  the  whole  scene,  a  radiance  that  seemed  al 
most  preternatural.  The  great  actor  was  dead ;  the 
lightning-flash  was  no  more  rapid  in  its  course  than 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  483 

was   that  of   the    breath  when    it    left   its    earthly 
tenement. 

"  He  died,  not  as  men  who  sink, 

Before  our  eyes,  to  pulseless  clay ; 
But  changed  to  spirit,  like  a  wink 
Of  summer  lightning,  pass'd  away." 

About  an  hour  afterward,  Col.  John  W.  Forney, 
and  Daniel  Dougherty,  Esq.,  stood  beside  us,  gazing 
upon  the  features  of  one  we  had  so  often  watched 
when  he  was  depicting  some  great  character  of  the 
drama.  We  will  now  let  Col.  Forney  speak  of  this 
melancholy  scene : 

"  His  breakfast  was  ready  at  the  usual  hour  (8.30)  on 
Thursday  morning,  and  the  bell  was  rung;  there  was  no 
reply.  His  heavy  tread  descending  the  broad  stairs  was 
unheard,  and  the  bell  was  rung  a  second  time  without 
response.  When  the  faithful  Kate  entered  the  library,  and 
proceeded  towards  Mr.  Forrest's  bedroom,  adjoining  it, 
she  heard  a  strong  breathing,  and  on  entering  found  him 
stretched  across  his  bed,  apparently  in  a  swoon,  and  a  livid 
streak  on  his  right  temple.  He  could  not  answer  her  call, 
and  when  she  called  in  his  friend  and  neighbor,  Mr.  James 
Rees  ('  Colley  Gibber '),  who  summoned  a  neighboring 
physician,  Dr.  Corbet,  the  great  actor  was  dead.  .  Word 
was  immediately  sent  to  James  Oakes,  of  Boston,  an  asso 
ciate  of  Mr.  Forrest,  to  Daniel  Dougherty,  his  lawyer,  and 
to  Colonel  Forney,  of  the  Press,  and  last  evening  the  two 
latter,  with  Mr.  Rees,  Mr.  Parkinson,  Mr.  Elvins,  and  a 
few  others,  saw  the  great  man  laid  out  in  his  bedchamber, 
his  face  as  quiet  as  if  in  sleep,  and  his  broad  forehead  recall 
ing  the  magnificent  brow  of  Shakespeare.  Indeed,  all 
about  the  dead  man  was  Shakesperian.  His  dressing-case  was 
literally  covered  with  pocket  volumes  of  the  plays  of  the 
immortal  bard,  and  in  the  library,  at  the  west  end,  the 
broad  pages  of  Ilalliwell's  magnificent  edition  were  open 
at  Hamlet,  with  notes  in  Mr.  Rees'  handwriting,  showing 
that  he  and  Mr.  Forrest  were  on  Tuesday  comparing  some 
of  the  criticisms  on  Forrest's  late  reading  of  that  play  in 


484  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

the  New  York  Tribune  and  Herald.      His  intellect  was 
clear  till  struck  by  the  fatal  blow." 

As  every  thing  connected  with  the  deceased  pos 
sesses  more  or  less  interest,  the  following  extracts 
from  a  letter  written  to  the  New  York  Herald  by 
its  regular  correspondent,  will  be  found  equally  in 
teresting  : 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  Dec.  13. — Seated  at  the  desk  where 
the  dead  tragedian  has  so  often  sat,  and  grasping  in  my 
hand  the  pen  so  often  directed  by  that  hand  now  nerveless, 
I  look  around  Forrest's  c  home,'  his  library,  and  endeavor 
to  fathom  that  austere  existence,  the  secret  of  that  life,  the 
causes  of  the  things  that  were  through  the  medium  of  the 
things  that  are,  his  books,  his  pictures,  and  the  many  remi 
niscences  of  that  stormy  life.  The  library  was  emphati 
cally  Forrest's  home,  other  apartments  of  the  large,  ramb 
ling  mansion  on  the  south-west  corner  of  Broad  and  Master 
streets  being  nothing  to  him  save  as  parts  of  a  great  whole. 
I  doubt  if  he  visited  his  picture  gallery  more  than  once  a 
week,  and  then  only  because  the  central  figure  there  is  a 
marble  statute  of  himself  by  Ball.  His  library  was  all  in  all 
to  him,  and  it  was  here  alone  that  he  came  out  of  the  shell 
of  his  melancholy,  and  lived  and  thought  his  nature  out. 
A  long  room  running  from  east  to  west  across  the  south 
wing  of  the  mansion,  having  on  either  side  ten  rows  of 
book  shelves,  inclosed  by  glass  doors,  contained  his  literary 
treasures. 

"Near  the  east  window,  on  the  table  at  which  he  often 
sat  and  poured  over  his  books,  lay  an  open  book,  the  fif 
teenth  volume  of  HalliwelTs  '  Criticisms  and  Commentaries 
on  Shakespeare.'  The  book  is  opened  at  the  one  hundred 
and  sixth  page,  and  a  scene  from  Hamlet  had  last  engaged 
his  attention.  Mr.  Forrest,  on  Wednesday  last,  had  re 
ceived  a  Herald  containing  a  criticism  on  his  reading  of 
Hamlet,  and  in  company  with  Mr.  liees  ('  Colley  Gibber')  he 
had  been  comparing  the  before  mentioned  authority  with 
the  criticism  alluded  to.  Clarke's  and  White's  '  Notes  on 
Shakespeare'  also  lay  on  the  table,  opened  at  the  index 
page.  Both  books  remain  as  they  were  left,  fitting  evi 
dences  of  the  fact  that  Mr.  Forrest  '  died  in  harness.' 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  485 

Scattered  around,  in  reckless  profusion,  on  the  tables, 
chairs,  and  main  shelf  of  the  bookcases,  lay  letters,  notices, 
papers,  books,  articles  of  vertu,  wearing  apparel,  and  one 
or  two  tin  boxes,  containing  valuable  papers. 

"  His  writing-table,  where  I  am  seated  as  I  write,  was 
used  as  a  receptacle  for  anything  and  everything.  A  copy 
of  Shakespeare,  printed  in  1632;  one  or  two  unopened 
letters,  a  'Walker's  Dictionary,'  a  check-book,  receipted 
bills,  a  letter — the  last  one  he  ever  wrote — addressed  to  a 
gentleman  in  Yonkers;  telegrams,  a  private  seal,  and  a 
motley  collection  of  newspapers  lie  before  me  now.  In  a 
glass  case  on  the  outside  shelf  of  one  of  the  bookcases  is 
a  copy  of  Shakespeare,  one  of  the  very  first  ever  printed, 
bearing  date  16'23.  A  like  copy  was  recently  sold  in  Lon 
don  for  £800,  or  $4000.  But  Shakespeare  abounds  here 
in  many  forms.  Forrest  worshipped  the  great  bard,  as 
his  life  and  reading  amply  testify. 

"  Passing  from  the  library  by  a  door  in  the  eastern  ex 
tremity,  the  visitor  steps  into  the  bath-room,  and  thence 
into  the  sleeping  apartment  where  Mr.  Forrest  died.  Mr. 
Forrest's  personal  tastes  seem  to  have  been  of  a  simple 
nature.  A  plain  mahogany  bedstead,  a  dressing  case  of 
antique  design,  a  bureau  and  two  or  three  chairs  complete 
the  furniture.  A  portrait  of  his  mother  hangs  near  the 
head  of  the  bed — a  kindly,  sympathetic  face.  In  this  room 
he  died  alone.  The  circumstances  of  his  death  are  full  of 
sadness  and  replete  with  useful  lessons.  At  nine  o'clock 
yesterday  morning  the  breakfast  bell  rang,  and  Mr.  For 
rest  answered  the  summons  in  his  usual  manner  by  a  sort 
of  affirmative  ahem !  '  Katie,'  his  tried  and  trusted  domestic 
of  many  years'  standing,  went  down  stairs  and  awaited  his 
coming.  As  he  did  not  appear,  Katie  became  a  little  im 
patient,  and  went  up  stairs  to  ring  the  bell  a  second  time. 
As  she  approached  the  door  she  heard  him  breathing 
heavily,  and  groaning.  Much  alarmed,  she  called  out,  '  O, 
Mr.  Forrest !  Mr.  Forrest,  are  you  sick  ?  What  is  the 
matter  ? '  But  no  answer  came  to  her  summons ;  and, 
thinking  both  the  library  and  bedroom  doors  were  fast 
ened,  she  stood  spell-bound  with  fear  and  anxiety.  As  she 
related  the  story  of  his  death,  she  said,  'I  was  almost  crazy 
— the  poor  man  dying,  and  I  not  able  to  get  near  him.' 
Almost  unconsciously  she  tried  the  library  door,  and  it 
opened.  She  rushed  through  the  library  to  the  bedroom, 


486  LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

and  found  Mr.  Forrest  stretched  on  his  back,  and  ap 
parently  suffering  intense  pain.  'Oh!  speak  to  me,  Mr. 
Forrest!  What  is  the  matter?'  she  called;  but  still  no 
answer.  Almost  frantic  by  this  time,  she  ran  down  stairs 
and  surprised  her  sister,  the  cook.  '  Mr.  Forrest  is  almost 
gone ! '  she  said.  '  Send  for  Mr.  Rees  !  Telegraph  Mr. 
Oakes!  Send  for  a  doctor!  Send  for  Mr.  Dougherty!' 
she  cried  out  in  turn ;  but  her  sister  dropped  whatever  was 
in  her  hands,  and  ran  up  stairs  to  the  dying  man.  She 
raised  his  feet  from  the  side  of  the  bed,  and  put  them  on  a 
chair.  She  sponged  his  head  with  cold  water,  and  opened 
his  collar,  and  tried  to  get  a  word  from  him.  He  could 
not  speak,  but  gave  her  a  look  of  such  unutterable  mean 
ing,  in  which  despair,  desire  to  speak,  and  mental  suffering 
were  combined.  He  lived  but  a  few  moments  after  the 
cook  came  up.  Even  as  he  looked  in  the  face  of  his  ser 
vant,  the  film  of  death  settled  on  the  'windows  of  his 
soul,'  and  with  one  last  despairing  sigh,  he  settled  back  on 
the  bed  and  was  gone. 

"  The  immediate  cause  of  his  death  is  not  positively 
determined.  Dr.  Gross,  a  surgeon  of  note  in  this  city,  in 
his  certificate  of  death,  says  :  '  Cause,  apparently  apoplexy 
of  the  brain.'  From  what  I  can  learn  from  the  servants,  I 
incline  to  the  belief  that  Mr.  Forrest  burst  a  blood-vessel. 
It  was  a  very  favorite  habit  of  his  to  dress  himself  in  the 
morning  with  the  exception  of  his  coat,  and  stretching 
himself  on  his  back  in  bed,  in  front  of  a  movable  mirror, 
exercise  with  a  pair  of  eight-pound  dumb-bells.  When 
found  yesterday  the  dumb-bells  were  lying  at  his  side. 
The  cook  says  '  a  red  streak '  appeared  at  the  side  of  his 
neck  just  before  he  died.  It  would  appear  from  this  that 
he  had  been  taking  his  accustomed  exercise,  and  possibly 
with  more  violence  than  usual,  and  had  burst  a  blood 
vessel  when  attempting  to  rise  from  a  reclining  position. 

"  Thus  he  died,  without  a  word,  without  one  parting 
glance  from  the  eyes  of  love.  Surrounded  by  all  that 
wealth  and  taste  could  give,  deprived  of  that  in  his  last 
moments  that  all  the  wealth  and  all  the  power  of  the  world 
could  not  have  given  him — a  friend  to  return  the  last  pres 
sure  of  that  stiffening  hand." 

When  Mr.  James  Oakes,  of  Boston,  arrived  at  the 
instance  of  our  telegram,  it  was,  as  stated  above,  to 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  487 

find  the  friend  so  much  loved  and  admired,  lying,  like 
some  sculptured  figure  of  pure  Italian  marble,  classic 
even  in  death,  before  him.  His  emotion,  his  tears, 
were  those  of  a  man  true  to  one  with  whom,  for  years, 
he  had  been  so  intimately  associated.  From  James 
Oakes  these  were  tributes  of  the  heart — gems  of  true 
friendship. 

EDWIN  FORREST'S  LAST  LETTER. 
The  last  letter  written  by  Mr.  Forrest  was  penned 
by  him  on  the  day  before  his  death.  It  was  directed 
to  James  Oakes,  Esq.,  Boston,  but  was  returned  to  Phil 
adelphia,  Mr.  Oakes,  the  moment  he  heard  of  the  de 
mise  of  his  old  friend,  coming  on  at  once.  Mr.  Oakes 
had  sent  Mr.  Forrest  the  caricature  of  a  clergyman 
who  had  so  many  calls  for  locks  of  hair,  that  he  was 
almost  shorn  bald  by  his  admirers.  "Kate"  and 
"  Lizzie,"  who  are  mentioned,  were  his  two  faithful 
Irish  servants. 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  December  llth,  1872. 
"  DEAR  FRIEND  OAKES  : — I  have  received  your  three 
letters  with  the  enclosures.  That  poor  devil  of  a  parson 
was  barberoiisly  treated  by  his  congregation.  He  ought 
to  have  known  to  do  what  he  thought  was  right — was  his 
only  course — one  can't  serve  God  and  Mammon  too.  The 
sheet  of  foolscap,  with  water-mark  of  1801,  is  a  rare  thing; 
thanks  for  it.  I  got  to  New  York  on  Sunday,  just  before 
six  A.  M.,  and  went  to  the  Metropolitan  Hotel;  ordered  a 
room  and  a  fire,  and  went  to  bed,  and  there  lay  thinking 
what  a  pleasant  time  I  was  indebted  to  you  for  in  Boston. 
Why,  the  next  week  passed  away  like  an  ecstatic  dream, 
without  any  let  or  hindrance.  Yesterday  was  the  coolest 
day  of  the  season  here,  and  I  found  the  scarf,  wrought  by 
the  fair  hands  of  Miss  Georgie,  a  true  comforter ;  and  again 
gratefully  thanked  her  for  it.  The  bouquet  brought  me  by 
Mrs.  Lane  is  now  on  my  dressing-table,  with  scarcely  a 
leaflet  blighted,  and  its  perfume  breathes  upon  the  air  night 
and  day,  telling  me  of  her  kindness.  The  girls,  Lizzie  and 


488  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORKEST. 

Kate,  were  delighted  to  receive  your  kind  remembrance 
of  them,  and  thank  you  very  much.  The  article  from  the 
Traveller  is  good,  and  vows  nothing  but  truth,  and  it  does 
blow — so  does  Gabriel's  horn — and  at  the  right  time,  too. 
It  needs  something  to  wake  the  dead. 

"I  hope  you  have  been  vaccinated,  as  you  promised 
me,  for  that  terrible  pest — the  small-pox — is  a  hideous  and 
fearful  thing.  Don't  neglect  yourself  in  this  duty,  which 
you  owe  to  all  who  love  you. 

"  Remember  me  to  your  sister,  to  Mrs.  Lane,  and  to 
Miss  Georgie,  and  also  to  Mr.  Lane,  with  whom  I  was 
much  pleased. 

"  God  bless  you  ever,  my  dear  and  much  valued  friend. 

"EDWIN  FORREST. 
"JAMES  OAKES,  Esq.,  Boston." 


CHAPTER   XLVI. 

THE  EULOGIES  OF  THE  PRESS  THROUGHOUT  THE 
COUNTRY. THE  SUNDAY  DISPATCH. THE  FUNE 
RAL. THE  BODY. THE  COFFIN. SURROUNDING 

OBJECTS.  THE  IVORY  CRUCIFIX. EXCITEMENT 

AMONG  THE  CROWD. THE  DOORS  THROWN  OPEN. 

INCIDENTS  AT  THE  FUNERAL. TESTIMONIALS. 

LOTUS  CLUB,  OF  NEW  YORK. THE  VAULT. THE 

LAST  CEREMONY. BEAUTIFUL  POEMS. 

r\  \HE  moment  the  death  of  Mr.  Forrest  was  an- 
-*-  nounced,  the  press  everywhere  teemed  with  articles 
speaking  of  his  merits  as  an  actor,  and  the  popularity 
he  had  gained  as  being  one  of  the  ablest  representa 
tives  of  Shakesperian  characters  of  the  age  in  which  he 
lived  and  died.  Biographical  reminiscences,  eulogistic 
notices,  and  appropriate  verses  to  his  memory,  occu 
pied  the  columns  of  the  papers  for  days  and  weeks  after 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  489 

he  was  laid  in  the  still  and  silent  grave.  Fame  and 
glory  to  him  were  things  of  the  past. 

"  If,"  said  the  editor  of  the  Sunday  Dispatch.,  of 
Philadelphia,  "to  be  famous  were  to  be  happy,  then 
Edwin  Forrest  was  to  be  envied.  It  cannot  be  said 
of  his  death,  as  it  was  of  Garrick's,  that  fit  eclipsed 
the  gayety  of  nations ; '  but  it  startled  not  only  this 
city,  in  which  he  was  born,  but  the  whole  nation.  The 
death  of  such  a  man  has  the  effect  of  a  great  disaster — 
the  dethronement  of  a  king,  the  defeat  of  an  army,  the 
burning  of  a  city ;  the  surprise  and  shock  of  the  sud 
den  death  of  Mr.  Forrest  has  been  felt  in  every  part  of 
this  country,  for  he  had  impressed  his  age  not  only  by 
his  intellectual  force,  but  by  a  strongly-marked  charac 
ter  and  actions  which  were  independent  of  his  career 
upon  the  stage.  It  is  certain  that  the  death  of  no 
other  actor  of  our  time  could  have  commanded  equal 
attention  from  the  world.  For  fifty  years  he  bore  his 
part  in  a  personal  drama  which  had  millions  of  specta 
tors.  It  was  a  play  in  which  splendor  and  gloom,  tri 
umph  and  defeat,  pain  and  pleasure,  were  strangely 
contrasted,  and  which  became  mournful  as  it  drew  near 
its  close.  Now  the  great  tragedian,  who  acted  death 
so  often  in  jest,  has  played  that  tragedy  in  earnest,  and 
the  curtain  has  fallen  upon  the  drama." 

We  quote  this  passage,  with  more  than  ordinary 
pleasure,  from  the  fact  that  a  very  unpleasant  litiga 
tion  between  the  actor  and  the  publishers  of  the  Dis 
patch  grew  out  of  an  article  which  appeared  in  that 
paper,  intended,  it  seems,  as  a  burlesque,  giving  im 
aginary  interviews  between  the  actor  and  the  critic. 
Mr.  Forrest  felt  himself  aggrieved,  hence  the  suit. 
The  following  manly  card,  from  the  proprietors  of  the 


490  LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOEEEST. 

Dispatch,  settled  the  unpleasant  affair,  and  Mr.  For 
rest  admitted  to  us  that  a  more  satisfactory  acknow 
ledgment  of  what  he  considered  at  the  time  an  insult, 
could  not  have  been  made : 

"  To  THE  PUBLIC. — It  will  perhaps  be  remembered  by 
most  of  our  readers  that  Mr.  Edwin  Forrest  brought  a 
libel  suit  against  the  proprietors  of  this  paper,  for  articles 
which  appeared  in  our  issues  of  the  tenth,  seventeenth,  and 
twenty-fourth  of  November,  1867.  The  solicitations  and 
representations  of  mutual  friends  have  induced  Mr.  Forrest 
generously  to  consent  to  the  withdrawal  of  the  case. 

"  Under  these  circumstances  it  becomes  our  duty,  as  it 
is  our  pleasure,  to  express  our  regret  at  the  publication  of 
the  articles  in  question.  The  articles  complained  of  were, 
we  frankly  admit,  beyond  the  limits  of  dramatic  criticism, 
and  the  present  proprietors,  who  saw  them  first  when 
printed,  were  at  the  time,  and  still  are,  sincerely  sorry 
they  appeared. 

"  Though  not  personally  acquainted  with  Mr.  Forrest, 
we  do  know — what  the  world  knows — that  he  has  always 
been  prompt  and  faithful  in  his  professional  engagements ; 
and  his  bitterest  enemies — if  he  have  any — must  admit  that 
he  is  not  only  eminent  in  his  profession,  but  especially  free 
from  the  vice  of  intemperance." 

The  funeral  took  place  on  Monday  morning,  De 
cember  16th,  1872.  As  if  the  spirit  of  Shakespeare 
exercised  an  influence  here  below — great  ruler  of  the 
"mimic  world" — this  passage  from  King  Henry  VI. 
would  almost  seem  to  connect  it  with  the  solemnities 
of  the  day.  "Hung  be  the  heavens  with  black!"  was 
literally  so  on  the  morning  of  the  funeral. 

The  body  lay  in  a  large  reception  room,  directly  be 
yond  the  main  entrance  from  Broad  Street.  The  cas 
ket  was  covered  with  black  cloth,  and  was  silver- 
mounted — six  silver  handles  being  distributed  on  its 
sides.  The  lid  bore  this  simple,  modest  inscription : 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FORREST.  491 

"EDWIN  FORREST. 
"  Born  March  9,  1806.     Died  December  12,  1872." 

The  body  was  laid  out  in  a  full  dress  suit  of  black  ; 
and  the  hands,  whose  gestures  had  so  often  led  on  ap 
plause,  were  folded  restfully  upon  its  breast.  Most 
natural  and  life-like  was  the  countenance — hardly  sub 
dued  with  the  pallor  of  death,  exhibiting  no  trace  of 
pain,  and  presenting  all  its  well-known  energetic  firm 
ness. 

Trimmed  and  constructed  of  the  choicest  and  most 
fragrant  flowers,  crosses,  wreaths,  and  other  floral  em 
blems  lay  upon  the  casket  and  upon  the  body  it  en 
closed.  Their  odor,  funereal  yet  sweet,  penetrated  all 
the  atmosphere  of  the  room. 

There  was  one  other  object  in  this  room  which, 
while  it  attracted  the  attention  of  those  present,  elicit 
ed  whispered  comments,  such  as  "Was  he  a  Catho 
lic?"  "Where  will  they  bury  him?"  etc.  This  ob 
ject  was  an  ivory-carved  figure  of  our  Saviour  on  the 
cross,  about  one  foot  in  length.  This  beautiful  piece 
of  art  was  sculptured  by  a  monk  in  Italy,  from  whom 
Mr.  Forrest  purchased  it.  He  paid  for  it  three  hundred 
dollars.  This  ivory  crucifix  occupying  so  prominent  a 
place  in  the  chamber  of  death,  gave  rise  to  the  report 
that  he  was  a  Roman  Catholic.  On  one  side  of  the 
room  was  a  large  mirror,  on  the  other  a  piano,  an  old- 
fashioned  sideboard  stood  back.  There  were  no  pic 
tures  in  this  room,  nor  ornaments,  besides  those  named. 

The  body  and  the  room  in  which  it  lay,  was  under 
the  immediate  charge  of  the  following  gentlemen : 
Messrs.  James  Oakes,  Daniel  Dougherty,  John  W. 
Forney,  James  Rees,  John  McArdle  and  Gabriel 


492  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKREST. 

Harrison.     The   formal   invitation  to  the  funeral  was 
in  these  words : 

"  DEAR  SIR  : — You  are  requested  to  attend  the  funeral 
of  the  late  Edwin  Forrest,  which  will  take  place  on  Mon 
day  next,  December  16th,  at  one  o'clock  P.  M.,  from  his 
late  residence,  No.  1346  North  Broad  Street." 

To  carry  out  the  well-known  wishes  of  Mr.  Forrest, 
the  purpose  was  to  admit  no  one  into  the  death  cham 
ber  but  his  immediate  friends.  It  had  been  the  inten 
tion  to  exclude  the  general  public  from  the  house  of 
death  and  a  review  of  the  remains,  but  this  determina 
tion  had  to  be  abandoned.  Several  causes  conspired 
to  this.  First,  there  was  the  strong  pressure  of  a 
conviction  that  they  who  had  been  the  admirers  and 
applauders  of  the  great  tragedian  during  his  life,  had 
almost  a  right,  certainly  were  entitled  to  the  privilege 
of  looking  upon  him,  lying  in  that  death  he  had  so 
often  simulated ;  and  then  there  was  the  difficulty,  the 
impossibility  of  obtaining  police  officers  to  keep  cleared 
of  the  populace  the  front  of  the  house,  since  all  of 
them  were  engaged  in  the  taking  of  the  census  of  the 
school  children  on  that  day. 

By  ten  o'clock,  a  large  number  of  the  sad  and 
curious  had  gathered  on  the  Broad  Street  sidewalk, 
and  hemmed  in  the  entrance  to  the  house.  The  doors 
were  kept  vigilantly  barred  to  all  save  those  having  the 
right  of  entrance — the,  friends  and  acquaintances  of 
the  deceased,  the  gentlemen  having  the  obsequies  in 
charge,  and  those  specially  invited  to  participate  in  the 
last  funeral  rites.  These  were  admitted,  but  with 
difficulty.  The  difficulties  increased  as  the  throng 
augmented,  and  at  length  grew  to  be  insufferable. 
Then  the  original  programme  of  privacy  had  to  be 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  493 

cast  aside,  the  populace  admitted  in  order  to  free  the 
pressure  upon  the  doors,  and  the  body  of  the  dis 
tinguished  dead  exposed  to  public  gaze.  A  line  of 
people  extending  from  the  main  entrance  to  the  room 
in  which  Mr.  Forrest's  body  lay,  was  formed,  and  kept 
unbroken  by  those  coming  in  and  those  going  out, 
until  the  funeral  services  began.  Surely  fifteen  hun 
dred,  probably  two  thousand  persons  passed  in  to  look 
upon  his  remains. 

These  —  the  hundreds  of  visitors — were  made  up 
of  all  classes.  They  were  the  general  public.  Not 
a  few  among  them  were  members  of  the  dramatic  pro 
fession,  and  to  these  were  added  those  who  had  busi 
ness  relations  with  Mr.  Forrest,  the  neighbors  of  Broad 
Street  and  other  streets  of  the  vicinity ;  those  to  whom 
he  had  shown  kindness  in  his  lifetime,  and  then  the 
rude,  vulgar  crowd  of  the  curious.  Ladies  predom 
inated  in  the  multitude. 

INCIDENTS    AT    THE    FUNERAL. 

Among  those  who  came  into  the  room  to  take  a 
last  look  upon  all  that  remained  of  the  great  actor, 
was  an  old  lady,  who  approached  the  coffin  and  stood 
gazing  upon  the  features  of  the  deceased  for  several 
moments — gazing  intently.  She  was  weeping,  too; 
but  as  others  wept,  this  attracted  no  particular  atten 
tion.  It  was  not  until  after  tearing  herself  away  from 
the  side  of  the  body,  she  thought  of  something  which 
she  could  retain  as  a  memento  of  the  deceased :  ap 
proaching  us,  she  said:  "  Could  you  let  me  have  a  lock 
of  his  hair,  sir  ?  " 

uNo,  madam,  that  is  impossible,  as  the  body  is 
now  prepared  for  its  last  resting-place." 


494  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKEEST. 

"  0 !  sir,  if  you  only  knew  what  a  good  friend  ho 
was  to  me  and  mine,  you  would  try  to  let  me  have  it- 
something  to  keep  as  a  remembrance/'  and  again  she 
shed  tears.  Who  she  was  we  knew  not,  but  that  she 
had  good  reason  to  remember  him,  was  evident  from 
her  desire  to  have  some  memorial  of  one  for  whom  she 
grieved  so  much. 

Another  lady  came  to  us  on  that  sad  morning,  and 
stated  that  Mr.  Forrest  owned  a  lot  in  a  cemetery  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  city,  and  when  her  husband  died — 
who  was  an  old  friend  of  Mr.  Forrest's — he  generously 
offered  her  his  lot  for  a  place  of  burial.  "  I  have,"  she 
said,  "  a  son  buried  there  also.  Do  you  think/'  she 
asked,  "the  executors  will  cause  the  bodies  to  be 
removed  ?  " 

"  No,  madam,"  we  replied ;  "  the  lot  in  which  no 
member  of  Mr.  Forrest's  family  is  buried,  is  yours,  al 
though  it  is  in  his  name.  This,  we  can  assure  you, 
madam — rest  satisfied.  We  will,  however,  mention 
this  to  the  gentlemen  who  will  have  charge  of  Mr.  For 
rest's  affairs,  and  can  vouch  for  their  respecting  the 
dead  who  lie  there,  as  they  will  respect  the  memory  of 
him  who  so  generously  tendered  its  use  for  your  family." 

Another  old  lady — and  strange  as  it  may  seem,  all 
those  who  seemed  the  most  distressed  were  aged — 
walked  up  to  the  coffin-,  gazed  for  a  moment  on  the 
marble  features,  life-like,  in  death  ;  then  gently  recli 
ning  her  head,  imprinted  a  kiss  on  his  forehead,  and 
silently  walked,  away.  Then  there  came  an  old  actor — 
he  stood  gazing  on  the  corpse ;  tears  came  into  his 
eyes,  a  sigh  escaped  him,  and  wiping  the  former  away, 
he  passed  hastily  through  the  crowd — the  very  picture 
of  one  who  had  lost  a  near  and  dear  friend. 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  495 

Of  all  those  who  came  and  went  on  that  sad  occa 
sion,  these  were  the  only  ones,  among  the  many,  who 
seemed  fully  impressed  with  the  loss  they  had  sus 
tained,  and  who  might  well  have  said  with  Hamlet : 

"  We  have  that  within  that  passeth  show  : 
These  but  the  trapping's  and  the  suits  of  wo." 

"  MEETING  OF  ACTORS. — On  Saturday,  December  14th, 
on  the  stage  of  the  Walnut  Street  Theatre,  a  meeting  of 
the  dramatic  fraternity  was  held  to  take  suitable  action  on 
the  death  of  the  great  tragedian.  The  attendance  was 
large.  Mr.  Thomas  A.  Hall  temporarily  presided,  and 
after  a  sketch  of  the  merits  of  the  deceased  as  a  man  and 
as  an  artist,  Mr.  Lewis  Baker  was  selected  as  permanent 
chairman,  and  Mr.  B.  W.  Turner  as  secretary. 

"It  was  resolved,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Lewis  Morrison, 
seconded  by  Mr.  E.  L.  Davenport,  that  all  the  members 
of  the  profession  attend  the  funeral,  and  that  the  gentle 
men  wear  a  band  of  crape  on  the  left  arm,  and  the  ladies 
such  a  token  of  mourning  as  they  might  select.  On  mo 
tion,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  an  appropriate 
testimonial,  and  publish  it  as  the  sense  of  the  meeting, 
in  regard  to  the  great  loss  the  stage  has  sustained  in 
the  death  of  Mr.  Forrest.  The  committee  consisted  of 
Messrs.  T.  A.  Hall,  William  H.  Bailey,  C.  H.  Morton, 
E.  L.  Davenport,  and  Lewis  Morrison. 

"  Mr.  Morton  moved  that  notices  be  posted  in  the 
green-rooms  of  all  the  theatres,  informing  the  members  of 
the  companies  that  the  funeral  would  take  place  at  one 
o'clock  on  Monday,  the  IGth,  and  invite  them  to  attend. 

"  Mr.  Davenport  said  that  while  he  rendered  every 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  great  man,  he  thought,  that 
all  ostentation  by  the  members  of  the  profession  ought  to 
be  avoided,  and  he  moved  to  amend  the  resolution  by  pro 
viding  that  the  notices  should  merely  announce  the  time 
of  the  funeral,  and  that  the  members  should  attend  indi 
vidually,  and  not  as  a  body.  The  motion,  as  amended, 
was  adopted.  The  meeting  then  adjourned." 

ACTION  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  ACTORS. 

At  a  meeting  of  actors  held  in  New  York  on  Sun- 


496  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

day,   15th  of  December,  at  the  Metropolitan   Hotel, 
the  following  resolutions  were  adopted  : 

"  Whereas.  The  Almighty  has,  in  His  good  time,  seen 
fit  to  remove  from  our  midst,  ripe  in  years  and  with  an 
honored  name,  Edwin  Forrest,  the  Nestor  of  the  American 
stage  : 

"  Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  the  man  who  may  be 
said  to  have  almost  been  the  representative  of  the  drama 
in  his  native  country,  and  whose  indomitable  will,  large 
intellect,  and  devotion  to  his  profession,  have  rendered  him 
an  honor  to  the  walk  of  life  which  he  adopted,  that  not 
alone  the  stage,  but  the  entire  intelligent  portion  of  the 
community,  have  sustained  a  loss  that  will  be  deeply  and 
profoundly  felt. 

"  Resolved,  That  we  recognize  in  the  career  of  Edwin 
Forrest,  a  bright  incentive  to  those  who  have  entered  upon 
the  actor's  life — a  life  which  has  already  given  many  ex 
amples  of  goodness  and  rectitude,  and,  in  the  case  of  the 
deceased,  has  tended  to  elevate  the  stage  and  call  attention 
to  its  objects  by  the  votaries  of  the  drama  in  his  native 
land. 

"  Resolved,  That  while  we  deplore  his  taking  off  as  a 
loss  to  his  profession,  still  we  bow  our  heads  in  submission 
to  a  mightier  will,  and  find  consolation  in  the  fact  that 
Edwin  Forrest  was  taken  from  a  life  of  suffering  to  one 
where  trouble  cannot  reach  him  further.  The  life-string 
may  be  snapped,  but  the  memory  of  the  actor,  the  scholar, 
and  the  man,  cannot  perish,  but  will  live  to  a  bright  and 
glorious  future." 

The  Lotus  Club,  of  New  York,  having  signified  its 
intention  of  sending  on  a  delegation  of  its  members, 
headed  by  Mayor  Hall,  as  a  mark  of  respect  for  the 
deceased  tragedian — preparations  were  made  for  the 
reception  of  the  delegation,  and  a  place  assigned  it  in 
the  funeral  cortege. 

The  delegation  left  New  York  at  seven  and  a-half 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  were  met  at  the  West 
Philadelphia  depot  on  their  arrival  by  Mr.  Harrison 


LIFE     OF     EDWIN    FORREST.  497 

and  Mr.  McMinn,  and  taken  to  Mr.  Forrest's  residence, 
at  Broad  and  Master  streets,  in  carriages. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  designated  as  pall 
bearers  : 

Mr.  James  Oakes,  of  Boston;  Mr.  James  Lawson, 
of  New  York ;  Daniel  Dougherty,  Esq. ;  Colonel 
John  W.  Forney ;  Dr.  Jesse  R.  Burden ;  Dr.  Samuel 
D.  Gross ;  George  W.  Childs,  Esq.,  and  Colonel  James 
Page,  of  Philadelphia. 

Ex-Mayor  John  Swift,  one  of  the  earliest  friends  of 
Mr.  Forrest,  would  also  have  served  as  a  pall-bearer 
had  his  age  and  infirmities  permitted.  A  carriage  was 
sent  to  his  house  for  him  in  the  morning,  but  he  was 
too  feeble  to  venture  out. 

At  the  appointed  hour  the  usual  funeral  service  of 
the  Church  of  England  was  performed  over  the  body, 
conducted  by  Rev.  Mr.  Newlin,  of  the  Church  of  the 
Incarnation,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Boyer,  of  St.  Paul's. 

The  body  was  then  borne  to  the  hearse  in  waiting, 
and  the  funeral  cortege,  consisting  of  about  fifty  car 
riages,  moved  off  in  the  following  order :  Pall-bearers, 
domestics  of  the  house,  near  friends  of  the  deceased, 
the  Lotus  Club,  members  of  the  dramatic  profession, 
and  others  invited. 

As  the  solemn  procession  moved  along,  throngs  of 
people  lined  the  streets,  gazing  sorrowfully  upon  the 
hearse  containing  the  body  of  one  who  for  upwards  of 
forty  years  enchanted  them  with  his  great  histrionic 
powers.  The  cold  drizzling  rain  did  not  deter  them 
from  following  the  funeral  cortege  to  the  place  of  burial. 
On  its  arrival  at  the  church,  the  crowd  was  so  large 
that  there  was  great  difficulty  in  entering  the  graveyard. 
On  every  countenance  there  was  an  expression  of  sad- 
31 


498  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

ness,  and  when  the  last  words  were  said,  "  dust  to  dust, 
and  ashes  to  ashes/'  the  pent  up  feelings  of  the  crowd 
gave  way  in  an  audible  sigh. 

Beneath  a  weeping  sky,  and  in  the  midst  of  a 
chilling  atmosphere,  the  remains  of  America's  greatest 
tragedian  were  consigned  to  their  last  resting-place. 
In  a  vault  in  the  old  graveyard  attached  to  St.  Paul's 
church,  along  with  the  mouldering  bones  and  the  de 
caying  coffins  of  those  who  had  gone  before  him, 
rests  the  earthy  form  of  one  whose  name,  though 
lowly  and  humble  at  first,  became  great  in  "  mouths 
of  wisest  censure." 

"  What  monument 

Is  wanted,  where  affection  has  enshrined 
The  memory  of  the  dead  ?     Grief  must  have  spent 
Itself,  before  one  thought  to  such  poor  theme  is  lent." 

"  The  curtain  falls.     The  drama  of  life 

Is  ended.     One  who  trod  the  mimic  stage 

As  if  the  crown,  the  sceptre  and  the  robe 

Were  his  by  birthright — worn  from  youth  to  age — 

*  Aye,  every  inch  a  king,'  with  voiceless  lips, 

Lies  in  the  shadow  of  death's  cold  eclipse." 

The  following  beautiful  poem,  from  Lippincott's 
Magazine,  adds  another  incident  to  those  we  have 
given  of  the  kindness  of  heart  of  that  distinguished 
gentleman : 

A    TRUE    INCIDENT. 

BY     LUCY     H.     HOOPER. 

All  night  long  the  baby  voice 

Wailed  pitiful  and  low  ; 
All  night  long  the  mother  paced 

Wearily  to  and  fro, 
Striving  to  woo  to  these  dim  eyes 

Health-giving  slumbers  deep ; 
Striving  to  stay  the  flutt'ring  life 

With  heavenly  balm  of  sleep. 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  499 

Three  nights  have  passed — the  fourth  has  come, 

Oh,  weary,  weary  feet ! 
That  still  must  wander  to  and  fro— 

Relief  and  rest  were  sweet. 
But  still  the  pain-wrung,  ceaseless  moan 

Breaks  from  the  baby  breast, 
And  still  the  mother  strives  to  soothe 

The  suff  ring  child  to  rest. 

Lo,  at  the  door  a  giant  form 

Stands  sullen,  grand,  and  vast ; 
Over  that  broad  brow  every  storm 

Life's  clouds  can  send  has  past. 
Those  features  of  heroic  mould 

Can  awaken  awe  or  fear ; 
Those  eyes  have  known  Othello's  scowl, 

The  maniac  glare  of  Lear. 

The  deep,  full  voice,  whose  tones  can  sweep 

In  thunder  to  the  ear, 
Has  learned  such  softness  that  the  babe 

Can  only  smile  to  hear. 
The  strong  arms  fold  the  little  form 

Upon  the  massive  breast. 
"  Go,  mother,  /  will  watch  your  child," 

He  whispers,  "  go  and  rest." 

All  night  long  the  giant  form 

Treads  gently  to  and  fro  ; 
All  night  long  the  deep  voice  speaks 

In  murmured  soothings  low, 
Until  the  rose-light  of  the  morn 

Flushes  the  far-off  skies, 
In  slumber  sweet  on  Forrest? 8  breast 

At  last  the  baby  lies. 


Low  lies  the  actor  now  at  rest 
Beneath  the  summer  light ; 

Sweet  be  his  sleep  as  that  he  gave 
The  suffering  child  that  night! 


CHAPTER  XL VII. 

THE   WILL    OF  EDWIN    FOKREST. 

X  EDWIN  FORREST,  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
-*-  5  State  of  Pennsylvania,  do  make  and  publish  this 
my  last  will  and  testament.  I  give,  bequeath,  and 
devise  unto  my  friends,  James  Oakes,  Esq.,  of  Boston, 
James  Lawson,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  and  Daniel  Dough 
erty,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia,  all  my  property  and  estate, 
real  and  personal,  of  whatsoever  description  and 
wheresoever  situated,  upon  the  trusts  and  confidences 
hereinafter  expressed  ;  and  I  also  appoint  them  my 
executors  to  administer  my  personal  estate  and  bring 
it  into  the  hands  of  said  trustees ;  that  is  to  say,  upon 
trust. 

First.  That  they,  the  said  trustees,  the  survivors  or 
survivor  of  them,  shall  be  authorized  to  sell  all  my 
real  estate,  at  public  or  private  sale,  at  such  times  as  in 
their  judgment  shall  appear  to  be  for  the  best  advan 
tage  of  my  estate,  excepting  from  this  power  my  coun 
try-place  in  the  Twenty-third  ward  of  the  city  of  Phil 
adelphia,  called  "  Springbrook,"  and  to  convey  to 
purchasers  thereof  a  good  title  in  fee  simple,  discharged 
of  all  trusts  and  obligation,  to  see  to  the  application  of 
the  purchase  moneys ;  and  such  purchase  moneys,  and 
the  proceeds  of  all  the  personal  estate,  shall  be 
invested  in  such  securities  and  loans  as  are  made 

(500) 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  5Q1 

lawful  investments  by  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
shall  be  in  the  joint  names  of  the  trustees  under  my 
will.  The  investments  which  I  shall  have  made  my 
executors  or  trustees  may  retain  or  change,  as  they 
may  think  for  the  best  advantage  of  my  estate. 

Secondly.  Upon  trust  to  pay  to  my  two  sisters 
Caroline  and  Eleanora,  jointly,  while  both  remain 
single,  and  to  the  survivor  of  them,  until  her  marriage 
or  death,  which  shall  first  happen,  an  annuity  of  six 
thousand  dollars,  in  equal  quarterly  payments  in 
advance,  from  the  date  of  my  decease  ;  and  should  one 
marry,  then  to  pay  the  said  annuity  of  six  thousand 
dollars  unto  the  other  until  marriage  or  death,  which 
ever  event  shall  first  happen;  said  annuity,  however, 
not  to  be  a  charge  upon  any  real  estate  which  shall  be 
sold,  but  only  upon  the  proceeds,  and  upon  trust  to 
permit  my  said  sisters  and  the  survivor  of  them  to  use 
and  occupy  my  country  place,  called  Springbrook,  with 
the  necessary  furniture  and  utensils  and  stock,  until 
marriage  or  death  as  aforesaid,  free  of  all  charge  for 
rent,  and  to  take  the  income  and  profits  thereof;  and 
the  said  trustees  shall  pay  the  taxes  thereon  and  keep 
the  same  in  repair. 

Thirdly.  To  take  and  hold  all  said  property  and 
estate  in  trust  for  an  institution  which  they  will  call 
"  The  Edwin  Forrest  Home,"  to  embrace  the  purposes 
of  which  I  hereinafter  give  the  outline,  which  institu 
tion  shall  be  established  at  my  country  place  called 
Springbrook,  certainly  within  twenty-one  years  after 
the  decease  of  the  survivor  of  my  said  sisters,  and 
sooner,  if  found  judiciously  practicable.  The  following 
is  an  Outline  of  my  Plan  for  said  Home,  which  may  be 
filled  out  in  more  detail  by  the  charter  and  by-laws  : 


502  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

ARTICLE  1.  The  said  institution  shall  be  for  the 
support  and  maintenance  of  actors  and  actresses, 
decayed  by  age  or  disabled  by  infirmity,  who,  if  natives 
of  the  United  States,  shall  have  served  at  least  five 
years  in  the  theatrical  profession,  and  if  of  foreign  birth, 
shall  have  served  in  that  profession  at  least  ten  years, 
whereof  three  years,  next  previous  to  the  application, 
shall  have  been  in  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  in 
all  things  comply  with  the  laws  and  regulations  of  the 
Home,  otherwise  to  be  subject  to  be  discharged  by  the 
managers,  whose  decision  shall  be  final. 

ARTICLE  2.  The  number  of  inmates  in  the  Home 
shall  never  exceed  the  annual  net  rent  and  revenue  of 
the  institution ;  and  after  the  number  of  inmates 
therein  shall  exceed  twelve,  others  to  be  admitted  shall 
be  such  only  as  shall  receive  the  approval  of  the 
majority  of  the  inmates  as  well  as  of  the  managers. 

ARTICLE  3.  The  said  corporation  shall  be  managed 
by  a  board  of  managers,  seven  in  number,  who  shall  in 
the  first  instance  be  chosen  by  the  said  trustees,  and 
shall  include  themselves  so  long  as  any  of  them  shall 
be  living  ;  and  also  the  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Philadel 
phia  for  the  time  being ;  and  as  vacancies  shall  occur, 
the  existing  managers  shall  from  time  to  time  fill  them, 
so  that,  if  practicable,  only  one  vacancy  shall  ever  exist 
at  a  time. 

ARTICLE  4.  The  managers  shall  elect  one  of  their 
number  to  be  the  president  of  the  institution  ;  appoint 
a  treasurer  and  secretary,  steward  and  matron,  and,  if 
needed,  a  clerk ;  the  said  treasurer,  secretary,  steward, 
matron,  and  clerk,  subject  to  be  at  any  time  discharged 
by  the  managers.  Except  the  treasurer,  the  said  offi 
cers  may  be  chosen  from  the  inmates  of  the  Home,  and 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  5Q3 

the  treasurer  shall  not  be  a  manager,  nor  either  of  his 
sureties.  The  managers  shall  also  appoint  a  physician 
for  the  Home. 

ARTICLE  5.  Should  there  be  any  failure  of  the 
managers  to  fill  any  vacancy  which  may  occur  in  their 
board  for  three  months,  or  should  they  in  any  respect 
fail  to  fulfil  their  trust,  according  to  the  intent  of  my 
will  and  the  charter  of  the  institution,  it  is  my  will 
that,  upon  the  petition  of  any  two  or  more  of  said 
managers,  or  of  the  Mayor  of  the  city,  the  Orphans' 
Court  of  Philadelphia  county,  shall  make  such  ap 
pointments  to  fill  any  vacancy  or  vacancies,  and  all 
orders  and  decrees  necessary  to  correct  any  failure  or 
breach  of  trust,  which  shall  appear  to  said  court  to  be 
required,  as  in  case  of  any  other  testamentary  trust,  so 
that  the  purposes  of  this  charity  may  never  fail  or  be 
abused. 

ARTICLE  6.  The  purposes  of  the  said  "  Edwin  For 
rest  Home"  are  intended  to  be  partly  educational  and 
self-sustaining,  as  well  as  eleemosynary,  and  never  to 
encourage  idleness  or  thriftlessness  in  any  one  who  are 
capable  of  any  useful  exertion.  My  library  shall  be 
placed  therein,  in  precise  manner  as  it  now  exists  in 
my  house  in  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia.  There  shall 
be  a  neat  and  pleasant  theatre  for  private  exhibitions 
and  histrionic  culture.  There  shall  be  a  picture  gallery 
for  the  preservation  and  exhibition  of  my  collection  of 
engravings,  pictures,  statuary,  and  other  works  of  art, 
to  which  additions  may  be  made  from  time  to  time,  if 
the  revenues  of  the  institution  shall  suffice.  These 
objects  are  not  only  intended  to  improve  the  taste,  but 
to  promote  the  health  and  happiness  of  the  inmates 
and  such  visitors  as  may  be  admitted. 


504  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

ARTICLE  7.  Also,  as  a  means  of  preserving  health, 
and  consequently,  the  happiness  of  the  inmates,  as 
well  as  to  aid  in  sustaining  the  Home,  there  shall  he 
lectures  and  readings  therein,  upon  oratory  and  the 
histrionic  art,  to  which  pupils  shall  he  admitted  upon 
such  terms  and  under  such  regulations  as  the  managers 
may  prescribe.  The  garden  and  grounds  are  to  he 
made  productive  of  profit,  as  well  as  of 'health  and 
pleasure ;  and,  so  far  as  capahle,  the  inmates,  not 
otherwise  profitably  occupied,  shall  assist  in  farming, 
horticulture,  and  the  cultivation  of  flowers  in  the  gar 
den  and  conservatory. 

ARTICLE  8.  "The  Edwin  Forrest  Home"  may, 
also,  if  the  revenues  shall  suffice,  embrace  in  its  plan, 
lectures  on  science,  literature,  and  the  arts;  but  pref 
erably,  oratory  and  the  histrionic  art,  in  manner  to  pre 
pare  the  American  citizen  for  the  more  creditable  and 
effective  discharge  of  his  public  duties,  and  to  raise  the 
education  and  intellectual  and  moral  tone  and  charac 
ter  of  actors,  that  thereby  they  may  elevate  the  drama, 
and  cause  it  to  subserve  its  true  and  great  mission  to 
mankind  as  their  profoundest  teacher  of  virtue  and 
morality. 

ARTICLE  9.  The  "  Edwin  Forrest  Home "  shall 
also  be  made  to  promote  the  love  of  liberty,  our 
country,  and  her  institutions  ;  to  hold  in  honor  the 
name  of  the  great  dramatic  bard,  as  well  as  to  cultivate 
a  taste  and  afford  opportunity  for  the  enjoyment  of 
social  rural  pleasures.  Therefore,  there  shall  be  read 
therein  to  the  inmates  and  public,  by  an  inmate  or 
pupil  thereof,  the  immortal  Declaration  of  Indepen 
dence,  as  written  by  Thomas  Jefferson,  without  expur 
gation,  on  every  fourth  day  of  July,  to  be  followed  by 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEREST.  505 

an  oration,  under  the  folds  of  our  national  flag.  There 
shall  be  prepared  and  read  therein,  before  the  like  as 
semblage,  on  the  birthday  of  Shakespeare,  the  23d  of 
April  in  every  year,  an  eulogy  upon  his  character  and 
writings,  and  one  of  his  plays,  or  scenes  from  his  plays, 
shall  on  that  day  be  represented  in  the  theatre.  And 
on  the  first  Monday  of  every  June  and  October,  the 
"  Edwin  Forrest  Home  "  and  grounds  shall  be  opened 
for  the  admission  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  the 
atrical  profession  and  their  friends,  in  the  manner  of 
social  picnics,  when  all  shall  provide  their  own  enter 
tainments. 

The  foregoing  general  outline  of  my  plan  of  the 
institution  I  desire  to  establish  has  been  sketched  du 
ring  my  preparations  for  a  long  voyage  by  sea  and  land ; 
and,  should  Grod  spare  my  life,  it  is  my  purpose  to  be 
more  full  and  definite ;  but  should  I  leave  no  later  will 
or  codicil,  my  friends  who  sympathize  in  my  purposes 
will  execute  them  in  the  best  and  fullest  manner  pos 
sible  ;  understanding  that  they  have  been  long  medita 
ted  by  me,  and  are  very  dear  to  my  heart.  They  will 
also  remember  that  my  professional  brothers  and  sisters 
are  often  unfortunate,  and  that  little  has  been  done  for 
them,  either  to  elevate  them  in  their  profession,  or  to 
provide  for  their  necessities  under  sickness  or  other  mis 
fortunes.  God  has  favored  my  efforts  and  given  me 
great  success,  and  I  would  make  my  fortune  the  means 
to  elevate  the  education  of  others  and  promote  their 
success,  and  to  alleviate  their  suffering,  and  smooth 
the  pillows  of  the  unfortunate  in  sickness,  or  other  dis 
ability,  or  the  decay  of  declining  years. 

These  are  the  grounds  upon  which  I  would  appeal 
to  the  Legislature  of  my  native  State,  to  the  chief 


506  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

magistrate  of  my  native  city,  to  the  Courts  and  my 
fellow-citizens  to  assist  my  purposes,  which  I  believe 
to  be  demanded  by  the  just  claims  of  humanity,  and  by 
that  civilization  and  refinement  which  spring  from  in 
tellectual  and  moral  culture. 

I,  therefore,  lay  it  as  a  duty  on  my  trustees  to 
frame  a  bill  which  the  Legislature  may  enact,  as  and 
for  the  charter  of  said  institution,  which  shall  ratify  the 
articles  in  said  outline  of  plan  ;  shall  authorize  the 
Mayor  of  the  city  to  act  as  one  of  its  managers,  and  the 
said  court  to  exercise  the  visitatorial  jurisdiction  in 
voked,  and  prevent  streets  from  being  run  through 
so  much  of  the  Springbrook  ground  as  shall  include  the 
buildings  and  sixty  acres  of  ground.  Such  a  charter 
being  obtained,  the  corporation  shall  be  authorized,  at 
a  future  period  to  sell  the  grounds  outside  said  space, 
the  proceeds  to  be  applied  to  increase  the  endowment 
and  usefulness  of  the  Home.  And  so  far  as  I  shall  not 
have  built  to  carry  out  my  views,  I  authorize  the  said 
managers,  with  consent  of  my  sisters,  or  survivor  of 
them,  having  a  right  to  reside  at  Springbrook,  to  pro 
ceed  to  erect  and  build  the  buildings  required  by  my 
outline  of  plan,  and  toward  their  erection  apply  the  in 
come,  accumulated  or  current,  of  my  estate.  And 
should  my  sisters  consent,  or  the  survivor  of  them 
consent,  in  case  of  readiness  to  open  the  Home,  to  re 
move  therefrom,  a  comfortable  house  shall  be  provided 
for  them  elsewhere,  furnished,  and  rent  and  taxes  paid, 
as  required  in  respect  to  Springbrook,  at  the  cost  and 
charge  of  my  estate,  or  of  the  said  corporation,  if  then 
in  possession  thereof. 

Whensoever  the  requisite  charter  shall  be  obtained, 
and  the  corporation  be  organized  and  ready  to  proceed 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  5Q7 

to  carry  out  its  design,  then  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
said  trustees  to  assign  and  convey  all  of  my  said  pro 
perty  and  estate  unto  said  "  Edwin  Forrest  Home," 
their  successors  and  assigns  forever,  and  for  the  latter 
to  execute  and  deliver,  under  the  corporate  seal,  a  full 
and  absolute  discharge  and  acquittance  forever,  with 
or  without  auditing  of  accounts  by  an  auditor  of  the 
court,  as  they  may  think  proper,  unto  the  said  exec 
utors  and  trustees. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand 
and  seal  this  fifth  day  of  April,  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-six. 

[L.  s.]  EDWIN  FORREST. 

Signed,  sealed,  delivered,  and  published  as  and  for 
his  last  will  and  testament,  by  Edwin  Forrest,  in  our 
presence,  who,  at  his  request  and  in  his  presence  and  in 
presence  of  each  other,  have  hereunto  set  our  hands  as 
witnesses  thereto. 


ELiK. 

H.  C.  TOWNSEND, 

J.  SERGEANT  PRICE. 

WJiereas,  I,  Edwin  Forrest,  of  the  city  of  Philadel 
phia,  State  of  Pennsylvania,  having  made  and  duly 
executed  my  last  will  and  testament,  in  writing,  bear 
ing  date  the  fifth  day  of  April,  1866,  now  I  do  hereby 
declare  this  present  writing  to  be  as  a  codicil  to  my 
said  will,  and  direct  the  same  to  be  annexed  thereto, 
and  taken  as  a  part  thereof : 

And  I  do  hereby  give  and  bequeath  unto  my  friend 
James  Lawson,  Esq.,  of  the  city  of  New  York,  the  sum 
of  five  thousand  dollars  ;  and  also  to  my  friend  Daniel 


508          LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

Dougherty,  Esq.,  the  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars; 
and  also  to  my  beloved  friend  Miss  Elizabeth,  some 
times  called  Lillie  Welsh,  eldest  daughter  of  John  R. 
Welsh,  broker,  of  Philadelphia,  the  sum  of  five  thou 
sand  dollars  ;  and  also  to  my  friend  S.  S.  Smith,  Esq., 
of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  the  sum  of  two  thousand  dollars  ; 
and  also  to  the  benevolent  society  called  the  "  Actors' 
Order  of  Friendship,"  the  first  one  of  that  name 
established  in  Philadelphia,  I  will  and  bequeath  the 
like  sum  of  two  thousand  dollars. 

In  witness  ivJiereof,  I,  the  said  Edwin  Forrest, 
have  to  this  codicil  set  my  hand  and  seal,  this  fifth 
day  of  April,  1866. 

[L.  s.]  EDWIN  FORREST. 

Published  and  declared  as  a  codicil  to  his  will  in 
our  presence,  by  Edwin  Forrest,  who,  in  his  presence 
and  at  his  request,  have  signed  as  witnesses,  in  the 
presence  of  each  other.  Bu  K  PRK^ 

H.  C.  TOWNSEND, 

J.  SERGEANT  PRICE. 


Whereas,  I  have  this  day,  October  18,  1871,  pro 
vided  my  friend,  James  Oakes,  with  an  annuity  of 
twenty-five  hundred  dollars  during  his  life,  I  have 
erased  from  this  codicil,  and  do  revoke  the  five  thou 
sand  dollars  legacy  to  him,  and  now  do  bequeath  the 
said  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars  intended  for  James 
Oakes  to  my  beloved  friend,  Miss  Elizabeth,  some 
times  called  Lillie  Welsh,  eldest  daughter  of  John 
K.  Welsh,  broker,  of  Philadelphia.  This  five  thou 
sand  dollars  is  to  be  given  in  addition  to  the  sum  of 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  509 

five  thousand  dollars  already  bequeathed  to  the  said 
Miss  Welsh,  making  in  all  to  her  the  gift  of  ten 
thousand  dollars  ($10,000). 

In  witness  whereof  I  set  my  hand  and  seal. 

[L.  s.]  EDWIN  FORREST. 

Witnesses  present  at  signing : 

GEO.  C.  THOMAS, 
J.  PAUL  DIVER. 

STATE  OF  PENNSYLVANIA, 

CITY  OF  PHILADELPHIA,  ss : 

Be  it  remembered  that  on  this  nineteenth  day  of 
October,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
seventy-one  (A.  D.  1871),  before  me,  J.  Paul  Diver,  a 
notary  public,  resident  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
duly  commissioned  and  qualified  by  the  Executive 
authority,  and  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Penn 
sylvania,  personally  appeared  before  me  Edwin  Forrest, 
to  me  known  to  be  the  individual  named  in  and  who 
executed  the  foregoing  codicil  to  his  will,  and  acknowl 
edged  that  he  signed  and  sealed  the  same  in  the  pres 
ence  of  witnesses. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand 
and  affixed  the  official  seal  as  such  notary  public,  the 
day  and  year  aforesaid. 

J.  PAUL  DIVER,  Notary  Public. 

[Notarial  Seal.] 


CHAPTER  XLYIII. 

AN      ACT     TO     INCORPORATE     THE     "EDWIN     FORREST 
HOME." 

QjECTION  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and 
k-'  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Commonwealth 
of  Pennsylvania,  in  General  Assembly  met,  and  it  is 
hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That 
JAMES  OAKES  of  Boston,  JAMES  LAWSON  of  New 
York,  DANIEL  DOUGHERTY,  JOHN  W.  FORNEY, 
JAMES  H.  CASTLE,  JOHN  H.  MICHENER,  and  the 
Mayor  of  Philadelphia,  and  their  successors,  are 
hereby  made  a  body  politic,  by  the  name  of  "The 
Edwin  Forrest  Home,"  with  perpetual  succession, 
and  have  and  use  a  common  seal,  and  be  capable  to 
sue  and  be  sued,  in  law  and  equity,  and  to  take, 
hold,  and  convey  real  and  personal  estate  of  an  an 
nual  income  not  exceeding  thirty  thousand  dollars : 
As  vacancies  shall  occur  the  existing  managers  shall 
from  time  to  time  fill  them,  so  that,  if  practicable, 
only  one  vacancy  shall  ever  exist  at  one  time,  and 
the  board  may  consist  of  seven  managers ;  the  Mayor 
will  be  a  manager  only  during  his  term  of  office. 

SECTION  2.  The  said  "Edwin  Forrest  Home" 
shall  be  established  at  the  country  seat  of  the  late 
Edwin  Forrest,  called  Springbrook,  and  shall  be  for 

(510) 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FORKEST.  5H 

the  support  and  maintenance  of  actors  and  actresses, 
decayed  by  age,  or  disabled  by  infirmity,  who,  if 
natives  of  the  United  States,  shall  have  served  at 
least  five  years  in  the  theatrical  profession,  and  if  of 
foreign  birth,  shall  have  served  in  that  profession  at 
least  ten  years,  whereof  three  years  next  previous  to 
the  application  shall  have  been  in  the  United  States, 
and  who  shall  in  all  things  comply  with  the  laws 
and  regulations  of  the  Home,  otherwise  to  be  subject 
to  be  discharged  by  the  managers,  whose  decision 
shall  be  final. 

SECTION  3.  The  number  of  inmates  in  the  Home 
shall  never  exceed  the  annual  net  rent  and  revenue  of 
the  institution,  and  after  the  number  of  inmates 
therein  shall  exceed  twelve,  others  to  be  admitted 
shall  be  such  only  as  shall  receive  the  approval  of 
the  majority  of  the  inmates  as  well  as  of  the  man 
agers. 

SECTION  4.  The  managers  shall  elect  one  of  their 
number  to  be  the  president  of  the  institution,  appoint 
a  treasurer  and  secretary,  steward  and  matron,  and,  if 
needed,  a  clerk — the  said  treasurer,  secretary,  steward, 
matron  and  clerk  subject  to  be  at  any  time  dis 
charged  by  the  managers.  Except  the  treasurer,  the 
said  officers  may  be  chosen  from  the  inmates  of  the 
Home,  and  the  treasurer  shall  not  be  a  manager,  nor 
either  of  his  sureties.  The  managers  shall  also  ap 
point  a  physician  for  the  home. 

SECTION  5.  Should  there  be  any  failure  of  the 
managers  to  fill  any  vacancy  which  may  occur  in 
their  board  for  three  months,  or  should  they  in  any 
respect  fail  to  fulfil  their  trust,  according  to  the 
intent  of  the  will  of  said  Edwin  Forrest  and 


512  LIFE    OF    EDWIN     FOEEEST. 

the  charter  of  the  institution,  upon  the  petition 
of  any  two  or  more  of  said  managers,  or  of  the 
Mayor  of  the  City,  the  Orphans'  Court  of  Phila 
delphia  county  shall  make  such  appointments  to 
fill  any  vacancy  or  vacancies,  and  all  orders  and 
decrees  necessary  to  correct  any  failure  or  breach  of 
trust  which  shall  appear  to  said  court  to  be  re 
quired,  as  in  case  of  any  other  testamentary  trust, 
so  that  the  purposes  of  this  charity  may  never  fail 
or  be  abused. 

SECTION  6.  The  said  institution  shall  be  so 
conducted  as  to  carry  into  eifect  the  following 
provisions  of  the  will  of  the  late  Edwin  Forrest, 
and  the  Orphans'  Court  for  the  county  of  Philadel 
phia  shall  have  and  exercise  all  the  powers  therein 
expressed. 

"The  purposes  of  the  said  ' Edwin  Forrest  Home' 
are  intended  to  be  partly  educational  and  self-sustain 
ing,  as  well  as  eleemosynary,  and  never  to  encourage 
idleness  or  thriftlessness  in  any  who  are  capable  of 
any  useful  exertion.  My  library  shall  be  placed 
therein,  in  precise  manner  as  it  now  exists  in  my 
house  in  Broad  street,  Philadelphia.  There  shall  be 
a  neat  and  pleasant  theatre  for  private  exhibitions 
and  histrionic  culture.  There  shall  be  a  picture  gal 
lery  for  the  preservation  and  exhibition  of  my  col 
lection  of  engravings,  pictures,  statuary,  and  other 
works  of  art,  to  which  additions  may  be  made 
from  time  to  time,  if  the  revenues  of  the  institu 
tion  shall  suffice.  These  objects  are  not  only  in 
tended  to  improve  the  taste,  but  to  promote  the 
health  and  happiness  of  the  inmates  and  such  visitors 
as  may  be  admitted. 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORKEST.  513 

"Also,  as  a  means  of  preserving  health,  and  con 
sequently,  the  happiness  of  the  inmates,  as  well  as 
to  aid  in  sustaining  the  Home,  there  shall  be  lectures 
and  readings  therein,  upon  oratory  and  the  histrionic 
art,  to  which  pupils  shall  be  admitted  upon  such 
terms  and  under  such  regulations  as  the  managers 
may  prescribe.  The  garden  and  grounds  are  to  be 
made  productive  of  profit,  as  well  as  of  health  and 
pleasure;  and,  so  far  as  capable,  the  inmates,  not 
otherwise  profitably  occupied,  shall  assist  in  farming, 
horticulture,  and  the  cultivation  of  flowers  in  the 
garden  and  conservatory. 

" '  The  Edwin  Forrest  Home '  may,  also,  if  the 
revenues  shall  suffice,  embrace  in  its  plan,  lectures 
on  science,  literature,  and  the  arts  ;  but  preferably, 
oratory  and  the  histrionic  art,  in  manner  to  prepare 
the  American  citizen  for  the  more  creditable  and 
effective  discharge  of  his  public  duties,  and  to  raise 
the  education  and  intellectual  and  moral  tone  and 
character  of  actors,  that  thereby  they  may  elevate 
the  drama,  and  cause  it  to  subserve  its  true  and 
great  mission  to  mankind  as  their  profoundest  teacher 
of  virtue  and  morality. 

"  '  The  Edwin  Forrest  Home '  shall  also  be  made  to 
promote  the  love  of  liberty,  our  country,  and  her 
institutions;  to  hold  in  honor  the  name  of  the  great 
dramatic  bard,  as  well  as  to  cultivate  a  taste  and 
afford  opportunity  for  the  enjoyment  of  social  rural 
pleasures.  Therefore,  there  shall  be  read  therein  to 
the  inmates  and  public,  by  an  inmate  or  pupil  thereof, 
the  immortal  Declaration  of  Independence,  as  written 
by  Thomas  Jefferson,  without  expurgation,  on  every 
fourth  day  of  July,  to  be  followed  by  an  oration, 
32 


514  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST. 

under  the  folds  of  our  national  flag.  There  shall  be 
prepared  and  read  therein,  before  the  like  assem 
blage,  on  the  birthday  of  Shakespeare,  the  23d  of 
April  in  every  year,  an  eulogy  upon  his  character 
and  writings,  and  one  of  his  plays,  or  scenes  from 
his  plays,  shall  on  that  day  be  represented  in  the 
theatre.  And  on  the  first  Monday  of  every  June 
and  October,  the  (  Edwin  Forrest  Home '  and  grounds 
shall  be  opened  for  the  admission  of  ladies  and  gen 
tlemen  of  the  theatrical  profession  and  their  friends, 
in  the  manner  of  social  picnics,  when  all  shall  pro 
vide  their  own  entertainments. 

"  The  foregoing  general  outline  of  my  plan  of  the 
institution  I  desire  to  establish  has  been  sketched 
during  my  preparations  for  a  long  voyage  by  sea  and 
land;  and,  should  God  spare  my  life,  it  is  my  pur 
pose  to  be  more  full  and  definite ;  but  should  I  leave 
no  later  will  or  codicil,  my  friends  who  sympathize  in 
my  purposes  will  execute  them  in  the  best  and  fullest 
manner  possible ;  understanding  that  they  have  been 
long  meditated  by  me,  and  are  very  dear  to  my  heart. 
They  will  also  remember  that  my  professional  brothers 
and  sisters  are  often  unfortunate,  and  that  little  has 
been  done  for  them,  either  to  elevate  them  in  their 
profession,  or  to  provide  for  their  necessities  under 
sickness  or  other  misfortunes.  God  has  favored  my 
efforts  and  given  me  great  success,  and  I  would  make 
my  fortune  the  means  to  elevate  the  education  of 
others  and  promote  their  success,  and  to  alleviate  their 
suffering,  and  smooth  the  pillows  of  the  unfortunate 
in  sickness,  or  other  disability,  or  the  decay  of  decli 
ning  years." 

SECTION  7.    That  it  shall  be  lawful,  and  it  is  here- 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  515 

by  required  that  the  Councils  of  the  City  of  Phila 
delphia  shall  cause  to  be  laid  out,  in  connection  with 
the  city  survey  of  the  public  plan,  an  area  of  sixty 
acres,  to  be  surrounded  by  a  street  of  sixty  feet  in 
width,  and  to  include  the  buildings  now  on  said  place ; 
and  the  same  being  done,  no  streets  or  street  shall  ever 
thereafter  be  laid  upon  or  run  through  said  sixty  acres 
without  the  consent  of  said  board  of  managers :  Pro 
vided,  That  said  grounds  shall  be  laid  out  with  drives 
and  walks,  to  be  maintained  in  good  order,  upon  which 
the  public  shall  be  admitted  to  enter  for  health  and 
enjoyment,  under  rules  and  regulations  to  be  estab 
lished  by  said  Board  of  Managers,  for  designated  times, 
not  less  than  thirty  hours  in  each  week.  And  the  said 
corporation  shall  thereafter  be  authorized  to  sell  the 
residue  of  the  grounds  of  said  Springbrook  estate,  in 
fee  simple  ;  the  proceeds  to  be  applied  to  increase  the 
endowment  and  usefulness  of  said  Home.  The  enclo 
sure  around  said  open  ground  shall  always  be  such  as 
to  permit  persons  five  feet  in  height  to  look  into  them 
from  the  foot-pavement  outside ;  and  there  shall  be  at 
least  four  carriage-ways  for  entrance  and  departure, 
one  on  each  side,  and  as  many  footways. 

SECTION  8.  The  said  Board  of  Managers  shall  have 
power  to  ordain  by-laws,  and  establish  rules  and  regu 
lations,  both  for  their  own  meetings  and  government 
and  for  the  said  institution,  and  the  public  admitted 
to  visit  the  grounds  ;  and  the  said  grounds,  plants, 
library,  and  objects  of  art,  shall  have  all  the  protec 
tion  that  cemeteries  have  from  contiguous  nuisances 
and  mutilations,  as  if  the  laws  relating  to  them  were 
here  enacted  for  the  protection  of  this  institution. 

SECTION  9.    That  said  estate,  so  far  as  it  shall  go 


516  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

to   said   charity,  shall  be   exempt  and   is  hereby  ex 
empted  from  the  collateral  inheritance  tax. 

W.  ELLIOTT, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
GEO.  H.  ANDERSON, 

Speaker  of  the  Senate. 

Approved  the  seventh  day  of  April,  Anno  Domini 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy-three. 
J.  F.  HARTRANFT. 

Governor  of  Pennsylvania. 

OFFICE  OF  THE 
SECRETARY  OF  THE  COMMONWEALTH, 

HARRISBURG,  December  12,  A.  D.  1873. 
Jknnsgltmnia,  00 : 

I  do  hereby  certify  that  the  foregoing  and  annexed 
is  a  full,  true  and  correct  copy  of  the  original  act  of 
the  General  Assembly  entitled  "  An  act  to  incorporate 
the  Edwin  Forrest  Home,"  as  the  same  remains  on  file 
in  this  office. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my 
hand,  and  caused  the  seal  of  the  secretary's  office  to 
be  affixed,  the  day  and  year  above  written. 

[SEAL.]  JOHN  B.  LINN, 

Deputy  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

COMMENTS  ON  THE  WILL  OF  EDWIN  FORREST. SOME 
THING  IN  REGARD  TO  THE  LOCALITY  OF  THE  "  ED 
WIN  FORREST  HOME." WILL  IT  SUIT  THE  VETERANS 

OF    THE    STAGE  ? TOO  FAR  OUT  OF  TOWN. SPRING- 
BROOK     IN    THE     MARKET     FOR    SALE  ! THE    WIFE'S 

CLAIM. OBJECTIONABLE     CLAUSE. THE      PROPER 

PLACE    FOR    THE    HOME. 

IN  1869,  Mr.  Forrest  read  to  us  the  outline  of  a 
will,  or  at  least  that  portion  of  it  relative  to  the 
"  Edwin  Forrest  Home."  It  differed  in  many  respects 
from  the  one  dated  1866.  In  it  there  was  no  allu 
sion  to  the  "farm"  or  "labor."  We  had  frequent 
conversations  upon  the  subject,  and  gave  our  opinion 
openly  upon  several  points  of  it.  We  are  satisfied 
that  in  the  outline  he  read  to  us,  Springbrook  was 
not  the  locale  he  had  then  in  view.  We  said  to 
him  when  he  alluded  to  it  that  "if  the  house  was 
ready  for  inmates  to-morrow,  he  could  not  get  three 
persons  to  avail  themselves  of  its  advantages."  In 
the  first  place  it  was  too  far  out  of  town,  and  the 
veterans  of  the  stage  would  not  like  to  lose  sight 
of  a  theatre  with  which  all  their  early  associations 
were  connected. 

A  few  years  ago  we  had  several  old  actors,  who 
had  retired    from    the   stage,  and  who  were    nightly 

(517) 


I  /  S*  V  <- 

518  LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FOEREST. 

seen  at  our  theatres  enjoying  some  good  old  play. 
To  them  the  theatre  was  an  oasis  on  life's  dreary 
sands.  Many  of  our  readers  will  recall  the  names  of 
these  gentlemen  :  William  B.  Wood,  Charles  S.  Porter, 
Charles  Durang  and  Edward  N.  Thayer;  not  one  of 
these  old  actors  were  so  situated  as  to  become  inmates 
of  a  Home  of  this  kind.  How  many  years  will  elapse 
before  Springbrook,  as  part  of  our  city,  will  have 
a  theatre  ?  A  Home  for  sailors  is  generally  near 
some  river,  thus  giving  the  old  tars  an  opportunity 
of  seeing  a  vessel,  commenting  on  the  "dangers  of 
the  deep"  and  spinning  long  yarns  to  enliven  the 
time. 

So  should  the  actors'  Home  be  near  to  the  scenes 
of  their  past  labors ;  take  them  from  it,  and  you 
take  away  the  one  little  star  that  should  shine 
upon  the  darkening  cloud  of  age.  One  of  the  old 
actors  named  above,  speaking  of  the  age  of  actors 
and  the  causes  of  short  life  among  the  idle  and 
dissipated,  said :  "  This  much,  I  may  safely  say, 
that  while  I  know  not  how  it  may  be  in  other 
professions,  my  observations  prove  that  artistes  gen 
erally,  and  actors  particularly,  live  too  long  for  their 
comfort,  or  enjoyment  of  existence." 

Instead  of  idly  believing  in  antiquated  errors,  as 
to  the  ages  and  fortunes  of  those  of  whom  we  have  little 
knowledge,  it  is  far  more  rational  to  conclude  that  age, 
in  any  situation,  is  seldom  found  productive  of  happi 
ness  ;  and  the  aged  actor,  like  his  fellow-sufferers  in 
other  labors,  is  often  found  to  realize  the  beautiful 
lines  in  the  Merchant  of  Venice,  where  Antonio  sensi 
bly  prefers  an  early  death  to  protracted  years  of 
want: 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  519 

"  Herein  Fortune  shows  herself  more  kind 
Than  is  her  custom  ;  for  it  is  still  her  use 
To  let  the  wretched  man  outlive  his  wealth, 
To  view  with  hollow  eye,  and  wrinkled  brow, 
An  age  of  poverty.     From  which  lingering  penance 
Of  such  misery  doth  she  cut  me  off." 

We  have  embodied  in  the  ahove  remarks  much  of 
what  we  said  to  Mr.  Forrest  on  the  occasion  to  which 
we  have  alluded.  Now  let  us  see  the  result,  without 
arrogating  to  ourselves  any  degree  of  credit  for  his 
change  of  views. 

In  1866,  Mr.  Forrest  considered  this  place  a  Para 
dise  ;  what  was  his  opinion  of  it  at  a  subsequent 
period  ? 

In  the  year  1870,  he  submitted  to  us  a  statement 
of  Railroad  Stock  which  was  offered  in  part  payment 
for  the  Springbrook  property,  and  so  anxious  was  he  to 
get  rid  of  it,  that  he  said  to  us  he  was  willing  to  make 
a  sacrifice  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  on  it,  which 
amount  he  had  expended  on  the  property  over  the 
original  purchase  money,  in  erecting  hot  houses,  fur 
naces,  etc.,  for  the  cultivation  of  grapes.  Among  the 
papers  of  Mr.  Forrest  will  be  found  an  opinion  of 
the  value  of  the  Railroad  Stock  offered  in  payment, 
which  not  being  satisfactory,  the  sale  was  not  con 
summated. 

The  codicil,  dated  October  18th,  1871,  was  made  at 
the  very  time  Springbrook  was  in  the  market  for  sale. 
His  engagement  at  the  Walnut  Street  Theatre  closed 
on  the  16th  of  October,  1871.  The  codicil  was  added 
two  days  afterwards  to  a  will  made  five  years  before. 
Mr.  Forrest  left  the  city  immediately  after  the  signing 
of  this  document,  at  the  same  time  giving  instructions 


520  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOKREST. 

to  Mr.  Thomas  Shallcross,  his  agent  for  this  property, 
and  ourselves,  to  look  out  for  a  purchaser  for  Spring- 
brook.  Why  was  a  codicil  placed  to  a  will  which 
Mr.  Forrest  had  entirely  repudiated,  for  its  whole  tenor 
was  for  the  erection  of  a  Home  for  Actors  on  land 
which  was  to  be  sold  under  his  instructions,  given  two 
days  after  signing  the  codicil  ? 

Shortly  after  Mr.  Forrest's  departure  from  the  city, 
Mr.  Shallcross  found  a  purchaser  for  Springbrook, 
and  he  at  once  wrote  to  Mr.  Forrest,  saying,  I  have 
sold  Springbrook  for  $95,000;  $50,000  cash,  and 
the  balance  in  good  city  mortgages.  To  his  sur 
prise  Mr.  Forrest  did  not  receive  this  information  in 
the  spirit  with  which  the  whole  matter  was  con 
ducted,  nor  did  he  answer  the  letter  immediately, 
and  when  he  did  it  was  to  have  the  sale  postponed 
until  he  returned  home.  It  was  evident  therefore  to 
Mr.  Shallcross,  that  Mr.  Forrest  must  have  had  some 
reason  for  relinquishing  a  sale  made  under  the  most 
advantageous  circumstances.  The  purchaser  ultimate 
ly  threw  up  the  bargain.  Mr.  Forrest's  course  in  this 
matter  can  be  readily  accounted  for,  which  in  the 
excitement  and  desire  to  get  rid  of  Springbrook,  he 
overlooked — he  could  not  give  a  clear  title  while  the 
divorced  ivife  had  a  claim  upon  his  property  !  Every 
piece  of  ground  sold  by  Mr.  Forrest  was  subject  to 
her  claim,  which  an  enlightened  court  awarded,  as 
alimony ! 

The  question  arises  here,  we  think:  does  the  ali 
mony  continue  after  the  death  of  the  husband  ?  We 
are  not  sufficiently  learned  in  the  law  to  give  an  opinion 
upon  this  point ;  in  the  lady's  case,  a  clause  in  Burr  ill 


LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FORREST.  521 

justifies  in  a  measure  the  decision  given  by  the  court 
in  New  York,  which  says:  "Alimony  is  an  allowance 
to  which  a  married  woman  is  entitled  upon  a  legal  sep 
aration  from  her  husband,  when  she  is  not  charged 
with  adultery  or  an  elopement." 

If  the  parties  go  to  law  to  decide  this  question  of 
the  wife's  claim  to  alimony  after  the  husband's  death, 
we  are  fearful  that  the  handed  estate  of  Edwin  Forrest, 
— houses,  library,  pictures,  bonds,  mortgages,  and  all 
that  was  his,  will  be  swallowed  up  in  that  vortex 
known  as  LAW.  We  should  suggest  a  compromise 
with  the  lady,  who,  we  are  well  informed,  is  willing  to 
meet  the  Executors  rather  than  go  to  law.  This  will 
settle  the  matter  at  once,  and  the  will  of  the  tragedian 
can  then  be  acted  upon  immediately. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  from  what  we  have  said, 
that  until  a  short  time  before  Mr.  Forrest's  death,  he 
had  no  idea  of  locating  the  Home  at  Springbrook. 
His  mansion  at  Broad  and  Master  streets  possessed 
all  conveniences — a  vast  library,  a  gallery  of  pictures, 
many  of  them  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  object  of  the 
Home,  portraits  of  leading  actors,  Cooke,  Kean,  Cooper, 
Wallack,  Kemble,  Caldwell,  with  those  of  Mrs.  Sid- 
dons,  Rachel,  and  other  eminent  actresses  ;  a  photo 
graph  gallery,  illustrating  Mr.  Forrest  in  all  the  charac 
ters  in  which  he  appeared  during  the  fifty  years  of 
his  eventful  career  on  the  stage  ;  there  is  also  a  neat 
little  theatre  under  the  picture  gallery,  with  appropri 
ate  scenery,  painted  by  that  excellent  scenic  artist, 
Mr.  John  Wiser ;  these  with  extensive  grounds  at 
tached,  made  it  a  Home  ready  at  any  moment  for 
poor  actors. 


522  LIFE    OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 

Had  the  sale  to  which  we  have  alluded  been  con 
summated  in  1871,  what  would  have  been  the  fate  of 
the  will  of  former  date  ?  It  is  true,  another,  which  wo 
most  sincerely  believe  was  the  one,  the  outline  of  which 
he  read  to  us  in  1869,  would  have  taken  its  place,  and 
the  Home  would  have  been  in  the  city  and  not  twelve 
miles  from  it.  He  put  off  the  day,  the  hour,  the  min 
ute,  until  it  was  too  late — too  late  ! 

It  is  well  known  that  Mr.  Forrest's  will,  as  it  now 
stands,  was  a  sad  mistake,  the  comments  made  upon  it 
after  its  publication  were  of  such  a  character  as  to 
lessen  his  memory  with  many  who,  previously,  had 
a  high  opinion  of  him  not  only  as  an  actor  but  as  a 
man. 

His  fame  as  an  actor  was  lost  sight  of,  and  a  uni 
versal  sentiment  was  expressed  by  no  means  compli 
mentary  to  him.  Our  readers  are  aware  that  we  have 
endeavored  throughout  these  "  Reminiscences"  to  place 
Mr.  Forrest  before  them  in  such  a  light  as  to  disabuse 
the  minds  of  his  censurers,  who,  judging  him  from  an 
imperfect  will,  condemn  a  whole  course  of  life  for  this 
one  fault,  which  summed  up  in  a  few  words — was,  that 
he  "  put  off  until  to-morrow  what  he  should  have  done 
to-day."  The  neglecting  of  which  duty  has  cast  a 
shadow  over  his  tomb  that  the  sunshine  of  years  can 
never  dispel. 

Edwin  Forrest  is  in  his  grave.  A  man  more  sinned 
against  than  sining. 

In  article  7th  of  the  will  there  is  a  clause  which  we 
feel  assured  old  actors  will  never  endorse,  it  is  this : — 
"  The  garden  and  grounds  are  to  be  made  productive 
of  profit  as  ivell  as  of  health  and  pleasure,  and  so  far 


LIFE    OF     EDWIN    FORKEST.  523 

as  capable,  the  inmates,  not  otherwise  profitably  occu 
pied,  shall  assist  in  farming,  etc.,  etc'1 

According  to  another  portion  of  the  will,  all  that  is 
expected  of  the  inmates  as  regards  indoor  occupation  is, 
either  to  lecture  on  oratory,  or  give  readings,  etc.  This 
might  be  a  source  of  revenue  if  the  "  Home"  was  in  the 
city,  but  could  scarcely  be  expected  to  yield  much  at 
Springbrook.  Again,  outdoor  labor,  working  on  a  farm, 
could  scarcely  be  expected  from  men  who  never  did  any 
thing  in  that  line,  but  whose  lives  had  been  devoted  to 
the  cause  of  the  drama.  A  man  of  seventy  or  eighty 
years  of  age  needs  quiet  and  retirement,  and  if  he  were 
able  to  work  on  a  farm  he  certainly  would  be  capable 
of  performing  on  the  stage,  unless  his  habits  were  such 
as  to  debar  him  of  the  one  and  totally  unfit  him  for  the 
other.  An  actor  is  not  considered  in  the  light  of  a 
laborer,  unless,  as  Shakespeare  says,  it  is  to  "  labor  in 
his  vocation."  An  old  worn-out  actor  would  seek  such 
a  Home  as  a  cessation  from  labor,  and  if  he  can  bring 
his  intellectual  abilities  to  be  of  service  to  the  institu 
tion,  it  would  be  within  the  range  of  his  artistic  and 
dramatic  education  only,  beyond  that,  it  would  be  to 
insult  the  intelligence  and  age  of  the  recipient  of  such 
bounty. 

Lectures  on  science  and  the  arts,  at  Springbrook,  are 
things  of  the  future.  Isolated  as  the  place  is,  miles 
away  from  the  city,  these  pleasing  themes  to  men  of 
literary  taste  sound  well  on  paper,  but  viewed  from  a 
practical  point  of  view  cannot  be  carried  out  for  years  to 
come.  The  drama's  cause  can  never  be  advantageously 
elevated,  if  the  means  to  do  so  are  placed  so  far  away 
from  those,  who,  otherwise,  would  be  delighted  to 


524 


LIFE     OF    EDWIN    FOEEEST. 


participate  in  such  a  laudable  undertaking.  Were 
it  in  the  city,  as  we  feel  assured  that  Mr.  Forrest 
fully  intended  it  to  be,  the  "Edwin  Forrest  Home" 
would  in  a  very  short  time  be  one  of  the  Institutions 
of  the  Country. 


r 


THE     END. 


IN  VARIOUS  SIZES  AND  STYLES, 

IMPERIAL,  CABINET,  AND  CARD. 


Imperial  1  figure,    sitting,    15  x  17*   inches, 

mounted  on  card,  20  x  24  inches.    Price 

Five  Dollars  per  copy. 
Cabinet  size,  head  and  shoulders,  4x5  inches, 

in  character  of  King  Lear.    Price  Fifty 

Cents  per  copy. 


OF 

EDWIN    FORREST'S    LIBRARY, 

Having  in  the  foreground  the  case  containing 
the  copy  of  the  First  Folio  Edition  of  Shake 
speare,  which  Mr.  Forrest  prized  so  highly. 

The  above  were  the  last  Photographs  taken 
of  Mr.  Forrest,  and  of  his  Library,  and  were 
pronounced  by  him  to  be  the  best  ever  taken. 

For  sale  by 

R  GUTEKUNST, 

PHOTOGRAPHER, 

712  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia, 
To  whom  all  orders  must  come  addressed. 


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Series,  cloth, $1  50 

Dow's  Patent  Sermon?,  4th 
Series,  cloth 1  50 


Above  are  each  in  cloth,  or  each  one  is  in  paper  cover,  at  $1.00  each. 

WILKIE  COLLINS'  BEST  WORKS. 

Basil;  or,  The  Crossed  Path..$l  50  |  The  Dead  Secret.     12mo $1  50 

Above  are  each  in  one  large  duodecimo  volume,  bound  in  cloth. 


The  Dead  Secret,  8vo 50 

Basil;  or,  the  Crossed  Path, 75 

Hide  and  Seek, 75 

After  Dark,...  ..  75 


Miss  or  Mrs? 50 

Mad  Monkton, 50 

Sights  a-Foot, 50 

The  Stolen  Mask,..,  , 25 


The  Queen's  Revenge,...  75  |  The  Yellow  Mask,...  25  |  Sister  Rose,...  25 
The  above  books  are  each  issued  in  paper  cover,  in  octavo  form. 

FRANK  FORRESTER'S  SPORTING  BOOK. 

Frank  Forrester's  Sporting  Scenes  and  Characters.     By  Henry  Wil 
liam  Herbert.     With  Illustrations  by  Darley.     Two  vols.,  cloth,...$4  00 

1®*  Above  Books  will  he  sent,  postage  paid,  on  receipt  of  Retail  Price, 
by  T.  B.  Peterson  &  Brothers,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Afl    " 

Ao 


IN  THE  PLAY  OF  THE  "  GLADIATOR," 

A  LIFE-LIKE  PHOTOGRAPH  IN  CHARACTER. 


«  EDWIN  FORKEST  "  as  "  SPARTACUS." 
T.  B.  Peterson  &  Brothers  have  just  published  a  large 
photograph  of  EDWIN  FORREST,  representing  him  as  he  ap 
peared  on  the  stage  in  his  great  character  of  "  Spartacus,"  in 
Dr.  Bird's  celebrated  play  of  the  "  Gladiator."  The  size  of 
the  photograph  is  11X14  inches,  and  the  size  of  the  card  it  is 
mounted  on  for  framing,  is  16X20  inches.  It  is  perfectly  life 
like,  Mr.  Forrest  having  sat  in  character  for  the  original  pic 
ture  ;  and  it  is  from  the  original  picture  this  photograph  has 
been  taken,  by  one  of  the  most  celebrated  artists  in  this  coun 
try,  F.  Gutekunst,  of  Philadelphia.  Price  Two  Dollars.  It 
will  be  sent  by  express  to  any  one  on  receipt  of  price. 

PORTRAIT  OF  "  EDWIN  FORREST." 
T.  B.  Peterson  &  Brothers  also  publish  a  fine  portrait  of 
EDWIN  FORREST,  engraved  on  steel,  in  line  and  stipple,  from 
the  last  photograph  for  which  Mr.  Forrest  sat,  and  which  he 
pronounced  to  be  the  best  portrait  ever  taken  of  himself.  It 
is  on  a  large  card  for  framing.  Size  of  the  card,  10X13 
inches,  price  Fifty  cents.  India  Proof  Impressions  of  the 
same  portrait  are  also  published  on  the  same  size  card,  for 
framing,  price  Sixty  cents.  Copies  of  this  portrait  will  be 
sent  safely,  on  a  roller,  to  any  one,  to  any  place,  per  mail, 
post-paid,  on  receipt  of  price  by  the  Publishers. 

Address  all  orders  and  remittances  for  either  or  both  of  the 
above,  to  the  Publishers, 

T.  B.  PETERSON  &  BROTHERS, 

306  CHESTNUT  STREET,  PHILADELPHIA. 


HOME  USE 

CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 

MAIN  LIBRARY 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 
1 -month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling  642-3405. 
6-month  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing  books 

to  Circulation  Desk. 
Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4  days  prior 

to  due  date. 

ALL  BOOKS  ARE  SUBJECT  TO  RECALL  7  DAYS 
AFTER  DATE  CHECKED  OUT. 


JUI      76 


\AA 


BEG.C1 


LD21 — A-40m-5,'74 
(R8191L) 


'AUG  2  4  2006 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


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V  i 


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U.  C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


